The maid visited Sula and brought her food. As she walked down the street, she heard the sounds of cats. Sula was screaming and howling like a cat.
The maid stopped in front of her, witnessing the scene: a group of cats hovered around Sula, attacking her. Sula scratched her face.
The maid shouted at them, "Stay away from her!" and urged Sula to move away from the cats.
Sula howled like a cat in response.
The maid asked, "Speak, you crazy woman. What happened to you?"
Sula replied, "These cats are hungry monsters who want to eat me."
The maid warned, "Stay away from them!"
Sula said, "I have become a monster—one of them. I have to defend myself, just as my husband, Capelli, defended himself."
The maid asked, "From Capelli?"
Sula answered, "The wild cat killed him. Maybe she is here."
The maid asked, "Do you know her?"
Sula replied, "There are keys around her neck."
The maid observed, "I'm watching the cats. They don't have keys around their necks. Why are they carrying them?"
Sula laughed like a madwoman. She had taken all the keys, leaving only one—the key belonging to her son, Sally.
The maid said, "I know where he is. He went to the countryside. He lives in the mountains, where his grandfather is raising him. But where is your family?"
Sula laughed and said, "Don't ask about my family. The monsters are stalking me. They paved the way with their scheme. They tempted my husband to lend them money to build his house in the village. Believe them—they asked him to help them with the village money he was collecting, promising to return more than what he gave.
They took the money and never came back. They also took his keys."