Rati spreads a mat inside the shop and starts doing her school homework. Just then, her aunt comes near her and says,
"What happened, Rati? Don't you want to go to the wedding?"
"No."
"Why?"
"Because I don't like it there."
"Why?"
"Because everyone forces the bride to go away with someone else. The bride cries, but still no one lets her stay."
"Oh, that's just a tradition of the world. When you get married, you'll have to go too."
Hearing this, Rati gets angry at her aunt and says irritably,
"I won't go anywhere."
Her aunt laughs and says,
"You'll have to go."
The aunt is saying all this as a joke because she doesn't realize how fast Rati's mind works and how deeply she takes everything.
Hearing this, Rati runs to her father and says,
"Papa, explain this to aunt."
Not understanding anything, Father asks,
"What did she do?"
"She's saying I'll have to get married. But I'm telling you now—I won't."
Hearing this, Father scolds the aunt,
"Why are you saying such things to Rati?"
"Oh, I was just joking with her."
"Is this something to joke about? That too with a child?"
The aunt feels hurt but doesn't say anything and goes inside to sit.
Rati, however, feels very happy that her father supported her.
But when the aunt is about to leave, she quietly says to Rati to vent her irritation,
"You don't know this, but your father is looking for a monkey to marry you to."
Saying this, she leaves for her home.
Hearing that she will be married to a monkey—and that her father might agree—Rati becomes very worried.
"No, I won't marry a monkey.
They live on trees—how will I climb?
What if he snatches my food and eats it?"
Thinking all this, Rati spends her evening worried and doesn't even complete her homework.
That night, when she sleeps, she has a dream where she is getting married to a monkey. When she sits down to eat, the monkey takes her puri and runs away. When Rati chases him to get it back, he climbs up a tall tree. The tree is too high, so Rati can't climb it and starts crying. Everyone is just watching her cry.
After some time, her father and mother come and ask,
"What happened, Rati? Why are you crying?"
"Look, he took my puri and climbed the tree!" she complains while crying. But no one takes her seriously and says,
"So what? Now that you're married to him, he can take your things. If you want to take his things, then become as quick as him and climb the tree to get your puri back."
Hearing this, Rati gets very angry and starts throwing stones at everyone, hitting their heads.
At around 5:05 in the morning, Rati suddenly wakes up. After sobbing for a while, she completes her morning routine and gets ready for school.
But even now, that dream continues to haunt her.
When Rati gets on the bus, Rama still doesn't try to talk to her. Seeing Rama sitting with Khushi, Rati ignores her and goes to sit on the back seat. She keeps thinking about her aunt's words and becomes more and more worried.
At times, Rati even feels like crying, and tears start appearing in her eyes. She keeps wiping them again and again, trying to stay normal. The wind coming through the bus windows helps dry her tears.
Rama is watching all of this from a distance. Seeing Rati cry, she feels bad, thinking that Rati is upset because she is sitting with Khushi.
When the bus stops at the school gate, all the children start getting down in a line. Instead of going inside, Rama waits for Rati.
When Rati gets down, Rama tries to hold her bag to help her, but Rati doesn't let her. She directly goes and stands in another line and starts walking into the school.
When Rati reaches the classroom, Satyam is already sitting next to her seat. Seeing her, he waves his hand and says hello, but Rati gives no reaction. She quietly sits down, puts her head down, and stays silent.
Seeing Rati sitting so quietly, Satyam doesn't feel good. So, to talk to her, he takes out a biscuit from his bag and offers it to her.
But Rati takes the biscuit and quietly puts it inside her bag. This feels very strange to Satyam, because he doesn't know that Rati has taken a vow to eat only once a day until the goddess returns her sister.
Then Satyam lightly taps on Rati's head and says,
"What happened, Rati?
Did someone say something to you?
Tell me—I'll break their head."