It is well past midnight. Kishori is lying on her bed under the mosquito net in her room, lost in thoughts unknown. Yes, her tear-filled eyes certainly reveal that some kind of turmoil is raging within her heart. There is no sleep in her eyes; she keeps turning from side to side and sighing deeply.

Suddenly, a heart-wrenching sound from outside the room reached her ears, making her restless at once. She could not remain lying down any longer. She got down from the bed, opened the door, and began to look around outside. The sound was of someone sobbing and weeping.

Outside the room was an eight-doored veranda, where, leaning against a pillar, stood a young woman, sobbing and crying bitterly. The moonlight was falling clearly on both the pillar and the woman. Coming closer, Kishori realized that the woman was shivering from the cold, for she wore no heavy garment to protect herself.

Kishori's heart was already wounded. How could she bear to see someone weeping so bitterly? She immediately went up to the woman, took her hand, and asked—

"What calamity has befallen you, that you are weeping so bitterly?"

Woman: "Alas, a calamity has befallen me that cannot be averted in any way!"

Kishori brought her into her own chamber and, seating her beside her on the carpet, began to converse with her. This woman could not have been more than eighteen years old. She was beautiful and delicate in every way; the jewelry she wore made it clear that she must be the daughter of a noble family.

Kishori: "I hope you will tell me your heart's story plainly, and, considering me your sister, hide nothing from me."

Woman: "Sister, I will certainly tell you my tale, for you too are ensnared in the same misfortune as I am."

Kishori (startled): "Have you, too, suffered injustice as I have?"

Woman: "Without a doubt."

Kishori (with a deep sigh): "O God! I have wronged no one, then why must I endure such sorrow?"

Woman: "But I cannot remain in this place any longer!"

Kishori: "Why is that? Do you feel some kind of fear?"

Woman: "No, no, I am not afraid of anything, but at this moment I have hope of escaping with someone's help, and that is why I left my room and came here."

Kishori: "Has some plan been devised?"

Woman: "Yes, and if you wish, you too can escape from here with me. A powerful man of this very kingdom will help us tonight."

Hearing this, Kishori was overjoyed. She quite forgot to ask who this woman was, what her name might be, or what sorrow had befallen her; in her eagerness to escape, she clasped the woman's hands in her own and, gazing at her with affection, asked, "With your help, can I too be freed from here?"

Woman: "Certainly you can, but we must not delay any longer."

Kishori was about to reply when the door before them opened, and a