This short novella is structured in such a manner that the reader is taken by surprise by the turn of events in the story. The recreation of pastoral scenes with lines such as, “[t]he heat brought out the scent of new paddy. It was a sweet and strong smell—like sunshine trapped between husk and grain,” sets the tone for calm enjoyment of the invocation of the sights and sounds of the countryside. It does not prepare the reader for the sudden twist in the lives of two extremely hard-working, self-sufficient, honest and proud farmers who are sometimes rather poignantly made aware of the lack of a man in their household. When the man enters their lives as a friend he introduces violence into their placid lives. Quite suddenly, the reader is starkly made aware of the violence lurking within spaces which are usually celebrated as being nurturing. In true folklore style, the obverse of love is presented in the same breath as love and longing. The narrative reaches a crescendo where the women find themselves in the midst of an emotional storm. The astonishing way in which the women recover from the violence and find a solution in folk wisdom is the coda which brings back peace to their lives and reintegrates them into their community.