The chapter is set in 1974, in Madras, and revolves around Mariamma, who is grieving the death of her father.
Mariamma receives an unopened letter from her father, making her feel as though he is still alive.
Her father's body was held in the morgue, where she discovers him under a rubber sheet and insists that there had been a mistake.
She talks to her deceased father's body, questioning why he decided to get on a train, knowing she was on her way home.
Mariamma's close friend, Uma Ramasamy, who was helping at the morgue tells her that her father's knee was shattered and he had a deep laceration to his left flank. Mariamma does not wish to see these injuries.
Mariamma shares a secret about her family with Uma, who agrees to help her with it.
Later, in her hostel room, Mariamma opens the letter from her father where he mentions being on his way to see her.
Upon returning home with her father's body, Mariamma and Anna Chedethi, the last surviving member of her family, mourn together.
At her father's funeral, Mariamma carries a secret that no one knows: her father's body in the casket is hollow with all its viscera removed to perform an autopsy.
Mariamma realizes that she has transitioned to adulthood as her parents are no longer alive.
She expresses her grief and gratitude to the people who supported her and her father at the funeral.