As she anxiously awaits a call from her daughter, Shashi absentmindedly folds handkerchiefs. She thinks back to the life she wanted for Kayla and recalls the sacrifices she and her husband made for their daughter. They brought her to California, hoping that she would be able to attend the best college and meet an intelligent doctor in school; however, they were deeply disappointed to find her partaking in American high school activities, like coming home drunk and vomiting into their toilet. Shashi has always wanted a beautiful life for Kayla, feeling that her own life was stolen to some extent. Originally, she wanted to name her daughter Kala, which means "phases," but her husband objected on the basis that it also means "black." When she and her husband got together, he erased parts of her identity that he didn't like: she was born Shashikala, meaning "moon phases," but her husband removed "Kala" from her name, rendering her immobile as the moon. Shashi wants differently for Kayla, but now that her daughter has found a man and is similarly tied down to him, it appears that their curse lives on. Shashi waits for what seems like an eternity for her daughter to call. Finally, her husband walks in, and the telephone rings.