Summary

In Chapter 8, Koly puts together all the clues from previous days and realizes she should have known Mrs. Mehta’s plan. She begins to cry, and Raji says she can join the widows who chant in the temple. The monks feed them. Raji leaves, and Koly is faced with the realization that she will have to sleep outdoors among strangers. As Koly walks, trying to decide what to do, an elderly woman motions for Koly to share her space. She is asleep on a doorstep. She says that the residents hand out a little food each morning. Koly and the old woman talk. She says that her brother-in-law dropped her off in the city, claiming that widows are bad luck. She says they actually had no use for her because she is too old for hard work. She says the monks give her food...