It is now 1 o'clock. Rati starts feeling pain in her legs, so she sits down by the roadside, still holding that page. Her father is quietly watching her. He believes that once Rati gets tired of trying and fails, she will give up this madness on her own—but perhaps he still hasn't truly understood her determination.
By 2:30, all the schools begin to close, and children start heading back to their homes. Those who travel by vehicles sit and wait for their rides, while the others begin walking.
Some of those children notice Rati sitting by the roadside holding that page. The first thing they do is read what's written on it.
It says:
"I will always speak the truth. Anyone who wants to hear the truth about themselves can come and talk to me. I will tell them everything honestly, without lying—only for 5 rupees."
At first, the children laugh at her unusual idea. Then, just for fun, one of them gives her 5 rupees and asks,
"Alright, tell me—how do I look?"
Rati carefully observes the boy and then says,
"You look tired, and your hair is thinning."
Hearing this, the boy falls silent for a moment, while his friends start teasing him about his hair. But the truth is, when Rati said he looked tired, it actually struck him deeply, and he had nothing to say. He simply steps back and lets the others go ahead.
Then another child asks about their looks, someone else asks about their handwriting, and in this way, Rati collects a total of 20 rupees.
After they leave, more children come—some to joke around, some just to see her innocence—and they ask her different kinds of questions. Rati answers everyone honestly.
By 4 o'clock, when her father comes to her, Rati has earned 40 rupees—without spending a single rupee and without telling a single lie.
Seeing this, Father feels both happy and a little jealous. But now he doesn't let Rati stay there any longer and gently convinces her to come inside the shop.
At 5:15, Grandmother also arrives there with Father's tiffin. When she sees that the morning meal is still untouched, she scolds him,
"What is this? Why haven't you eaten anything? How will you work like this? I know your shop is closed right now because of Rati, but what's the point of taking so much tension? They've already said you can reopen the shop after six days, so don't worry so much. Come on, eat something."
Grandmother doesn't know that Father hasn't eaten because Rati also hasn't eaten anything since morning.
When Grandmother opens the tiffin and places it in front of him, Father calls out,
"Rati, come here and eat something."
Rati comes holding 20 rupees in her hands and gives it to Father, saying,
"Here, this is for the food."
Father doesn't feel like taking the money, but he doesn't want to argue with Rati anymore, so he accepts it. Still, he feels like crying from inside—not because Rati gave him money for food, but because he doesn't want to appear useless or unsuccessful in his daughter's eyes.
When Grandmother sees this, she asks Rati,
"Where did you get this money from?"
Rati tells her everything that happened today and then goes to wash her hands.
Then Grandmother says to Father,
"If that's the case, then she's also wearing clothes that you bought for her. She should take those off too."
The moment Grandmother says this, Father's heart starts pounding. He quickly covers her mouth and says,
"What are you saying? If Rati hears this, she'll actually take off her clothes and throw them away. Don't you know her? And from now on, don't ever say anything like this to her again."
"I don't understand why you are so afraid of Rati."
"I'm not afraid of Rati, but of her honesty with herself.
No matter how she is, she is always honest with herself. She says and does exactly what she truly feels.
I'm afraid that the day she faces the lies of this world, her heart will break badly. Because a person can tolerate lies—but when something they have believed to be true all their life turns out to be a lie, from that day, they even lose trust in themselves.
I know that day will definitely come. The stronger I see her, the more scared I feel."
Just as Father is talking to Grandmother, Rati comes there, and he suddenly goes silent.
Then, to lighten the mood, Grandmother says to Rati,
"Rati, do you know? Rama was saying that next week the school is taking everyone for a picnic."