The Covenant of Water

Big Ammachi struggles with the loss of JoJo. Her husband comes to her in the evenings, but she is not yet ready to try for another male heir to the estate at Parambil. Meanwhile, Big Ammachi does not want to baptize Baby Mol, and she leaves her official name with the registrar. Baby Mol will always simply be Baby Mol.

A cousin of her husband, Odat Kochamma, comes to stay with them five years after JoJo’s death. She helps to heal the family. Baby Mol, for her part, is always cheerful and friendly; she especially loves her father and is not afraid to ask him anything. A young cleric comes to visit the family and notices that something is different about Baby Mol. Though Big Ammachi is furious at the suggestion, she decides to take Baby Mol to a doctor.

Dr. Rune Orqvist is a large Swedish man who radiates kindness and charm. Big Ammachi reveals to the doctor the history of the Condition and the drownings that run in the family. The doctor listens attentively, but knows that Baby Mol’s Condition is different: “It’s called ‘cretinism’—but the name is not important” (191). The term is dated, but essentially it indicates that Baby Mol “will always be a child” (192); her intellectual development is stymied by congenital issues, likely with the thyroid gland.