The twins come back to the house to find their mother asleep in a deep dream. At the beginning of her dream, Ammu is with a cheerful one-armed man. He is holding her close. There is tenderness. There is confusion. The man with her leaves no footsteps in the sand and no ripples in the water. He is the God of Small Things.
The children are frightened by Ammu's changing sleeping expressions, and so they wake her up by make small noises and disturbances in the room. When she wakes, she tells them she was dreaming. On seeing the twins, Ammu realizes that they have been at Velutha's. Without mentioning his name, she gently reprimands them for having gone to his house. At this moment, she becomes aware of.....
