Manimekalai was lost in thought for a while. Was the vision she had seen just now a mere illusion? Or was it something she had seen in a dream? If it were a dream, wouldn’t she have to be asleep? She touched herself to make sure; no, she was not asleep. Was this not the inner chamber being prepared for the young queen of Pazhuvoor? There, her face was clearly visible in the polished mirror. The oil lamp was burning steadily. She turned to look at the wall opposite the mirror. She knew there was a secret door there. It could be opened from the outside as well as from within. Manimekalai stood by the wall at that spot, pressed her ear against it, and listened intently. The secret door, which was flush with the wall, was made of wood. Because of that, she could hear some sound from the hunting hall beyond.

Manimekalai slowly opened the secret door and peered into the hunting hall. Most of the hall was shrouded in darkness. In one corner, a small earthen lamp was burning. Suddenly, the light from that lamp dimmed, then in the next instant shone brightly again. It seemed as if some figure had passed in front of the lamp, momentarily blocking its light. That must be why the lamp was hidden for a moment and then shone again. Was the face of the figure that blocked the lamp for a moment the same as the one she had just seen in the mirror? Or was this too a trick of her mind?

Still peering out, Manimekalai clapped her hands and asked in a soft voice, “Who is there?” In response, a gruff voice was heard. A bat, startled from where it hung from the ceiling, flew off with a ‘jivv’ sound and clung to another spot on the roof. Again, there was a very faint sound of someone coughing.

Standing at the threshold, Manimekalai called out in a loud voice, “Adiye Chandramathi!”

“Why, Amma?” came the reply.

“Take the hand-lamp and come here at once!” said Manimekalai.

In a short while, a maid arrived with a lamp in her hand. “But the lamp here is burning well, Amma. Why do you need another lamp?” “We must go inside the hunting pavilion and see. I heard some noise.”

“It must be just a bat flapping its wings, Amma! What else could it be?”

“No, girl! Just a moment ago, I was looking into this crystal mirror. Suddenly, beside my own face, I saw another face appear!”

“What did that face look like? Was it like Manmatha’s face? Or did it resemble Arjuna’s?” said the maid, and laughed.

“What is this, Chandramathi! Are you making fun of me?”

“No, Amma, not at all! Didn’t you often say you saw him in your dreams? Perhaps he has now appeared in the mirror?”

“Yes, Chandramathi! But this time it seemed so very real.”

“All women go through such hallucinations at some point. For