From behind a tree on the bank of the stream, half-hidden and half-exposed, Poonguzhali saw the mute queen. The unexpected sight of her, at such an unexpected place and time, startled Poonguzhali. She knew well that the mute queen did not like to see strangers. “Sendhan Amudhan is in the boat—if my aunt sees him, will she perhaps run away?” That very thought had barely crossed her mind when her aunt indeed began to run.

Poonguzhali swiftly leapt from the boat onto the bank and climbed the mound to look around. She noticed her aunt disappearing into the dense forest a little distance away.

Meanwhile, Sendhan Amudhan too jumped onto the bank, climbed the mound, and reached the spot where Poonguzhali stood.

“Poonguzhali! Poonguzhali! Who was it that stood here just now?” he asked.

“Don’t you know, Amudha?”

“I can’t say for certain! Perhaps…”

“Yes, it was my aunt! The very same aunt whom you thought was dead—your mother’s elder sister!”

“Yes; she did seem to have a little of my mother’s manner.”

“Don’t just say anything that comes to mind! There’s no resemblance in appearance between the younger and elder aunts; nor in their natures. Where is the cow that’s tied up at home, and where is the lioness who roams the wild as she pleases?”

“All right, let it be so. But why did the lioness run away as soon as she saw you?”

Poonguzhali laughed and said, “She ran away after seeing you, not me. She has no fondness for seeing strangers.”

“I am not a stranger, am I?”

“My aunt doesn’t know that, does she? If she knew, she wouldn’t run away after seeing you. But before she comes to know, she hesitates a great deal.”

“Poonguzhali! What are you going to do now?”

“I’m going to search for my aunt and bring her back.” “May I come too?”

“For what purpose?”

“To see Periyamma in person and get to know her, that’s all.”

“Why do you need to know Periyamma?”

Senthan Amudhan, having learned a little about his Periyamma’s past from Poonguzhali, was eager to see her. Along with that, he also hoped that Periyamma might help change Poonguzhali’s mind away from her current loyalties.

“There are so many reasons; but is a reason needed to want to know Periyamma?” he replied.

Poonguzhali thought for a moment and said, “Alright, come! Let’s go. If I take you along, it might be a little harder to catch Periyamma. Still, who can stop us? We can tie the boat up here and leave it!”

As she said, they tied the boat securely, hiding it beneath a thicket of screw pine, and set off together toward the Kodikkarai forest.

As they walked, Senthan Amudhan asked, “Poonguzhali! Didn’t you say Periyamma lives either on the island of Lanka or on the island of Puthu?”

“Yes, sometimes she stays in Lanka, sometimes on Puthu island.”

“Does she come here often?”

“No; she comes only rarely. If I don’t go to