Sold

Shilpa explains that sometimes the local police raid Happiness House and take one girl away if Mumtaz is late with her payments. A police officer who is Shilpa’s regular customer confirms that delinquent payment was indeed the reason for the raid. However, Anita still believes that the raid was carried out by Americans who shamed Shahanna and left her in a ditch to die. Mumtaz orders the girls to clean the building so they can open for business and to work extra hard to pick up the slack of losing Shahanna. Lakshmi is sick and stays in bed, but Mumtaz still sends men up to her.

Lakshmi stays in bed in a trance-like state for a while until Mumtaz threatens to sell her to a different brothel. Lakshmi doesn’t care, but Anita smacks her in the face to snap her out of it, then puts her makeup on for her. Lakshmi decides that Anita is the only friend she has left. Anita shows Lakshmi her hiding place for raids and invites Lakshmi to share it next time. Another American customer visits Lakshmi, and she tries to show him the business card and get help. However, he looks confused, because he actually intends to use the brothel for the services that it provides.

One day, the Street Boy gives her a cup of tea for free, because he has been sensing for months that she loves tea even though she does not buy any. He is kind and visits the brothel each day with his cart but does not come there as a customer.

Lakshmi’s calculations indicate that she has about a year left. However, Mumtaz says she has five more years because of TV, electricity, interest, and other random expenses. Lakshmi resolves to become like Monica and have sex with as many men as possible to earn extra money. She even goes so far as to tolerate customers that no one else wants or by doing unnamed “nasty” things for certain customers. She also learns to rob them if they fall asleep. Lakshmi also pursues Shilpa’s regular customers, ignoring Shilpa’s warnings.

Lakshmi becomes numb to the harsh realities of her life and is unmoved by the cries of new girls. She tries to buy liquor from the Street Boy, who warns her that liquor is addictive and offers to bring her Coca-Cola or sweet cakes instead. She doesn’t answer, but he gives her free tea once more. The following day, he brings her a Coca-Cola (which she’s never tried) and she is delighted. However, his boss beats him for giving away the soda for free.

Lakshmi goes to Shilpa in the counting room and asks to borrow 40 rupees to pay Street Boy for the soda. Shilpa at first refuses. Lakshmi argues that it would be taken out of her money that gets sent home to her family, so she can do what she wants with it. Shilpa shares that, regardless of what Lakshmi or her family was told, Mumtaz will never send any money to her family, and Lakshmi will never pay off her “debt,” because there is no debt. Mumtaz will just keep Lakshmi at the brothel until she is too sick to be profitable, at which point she will kick her out to die in the streets. Lakshmi runs away from Shilpa and vomits repeatedly over the next day, realizing that everything she has done is for nothing.

Street Boy returns and announces that it is his last day; there will be a new tea cart boy. Everyone says goodbye warmly, except for Shilpa, who is only concerned about whether the new boy will sell liquor. Lakshmi runs up and hugs him, seizing the chance to whisper and give him the American business card from the man who wanted to help her. The implication is that she asks Street Boy to call the number and send someone from that organization to the brothel to help her. After he has gone, Lakshmi laments that she never learned Street Boy’s name. Anita seems to contract the same “coughing disease” that Pushpa had. A week passes.

Finally, an American visits Lakshmi. He asks her age and inquires whether she wants to leave. He takes her picture and shows her photographs of the clean, safe place that the other man described. In the pictures, girls are attending school and are not being raped or otherwise sexually exploited. Lakshmi says that she does want to go. The man confirms that what Mumtaz does is wrong and that her business should be shut down. He promises to return later with more men to counter Mumtaz’s many guards.

Five days pass. Lakshmi begins to feel stupid for hoping to escape. A new girl accepts a bracelet as a gift from a customer, and Mumtaz whips her, causing Lakshmi to worry what her reaction would be if she were to find out about the American. Mumtaz notices Lakshmi looking “guilty” and rips her earring out, tearing her ear lobe in half.

In the middle of the night, police arrive, along with the American man, who says he has come for Lakshmi. Anita wants to hide, still thinking it to be a trick. However, Lakshmi answers the calls and goes out, seeing a bunch of American and Indian men who are there to investigate. Mumtaz tries to attack Lakshmi but gets arrested instead, and the narrative implies that the brothel will be shut down and all of the girls rescued.