While Ahadyla was still lost in her own thoughts, she suddenly heard Karaman's soft and calm voice, "Someone will come and rescue us. I am sure of that, but in the meantime, I will tell you some stories," and so he began:

"Once there was a stunningly beautiful woman by the name of Ahalya. (Ahadyla was immediately struck by the similarity of that name to her own. His voice was piercing her heart.)  She was married to Gautama, a very kind and intelligent professor of religious studies,who was not only teaching about religion, but following Dharma was the main goal in his life. He loved his wife dearly and she had everything she desired: beautiful looks, many friends and a good job. In fact, she was a teacher of Sanskrit at a local college. What she was lacking, or so she thought, was the experience of how it would be to make love to another man. ("That is just like me," Ahadyla thought.)
So, while her husband was out of town attending a conference, she invited that interesting-looking guy, Indra, to come to her house. She knew that he liked women and she knew that he liked her and she did not have to tell him what she wanted, because he seemed to have that same interest. He reminded her how beautiful she was and she savored his attention. So, they made love together. (At this point Karaman looked at Ahadyla, but all he gave her was a reassuring smile; there seemed to be no hint of a judgment in his gaze.)
The next day, however, she wondered, if her experience had really made her more satisfied. Had she gained anything from it? Anything at all? She had experienced a pleasurable time, that is true, but at the same time, she felt kind of empty. Maybe even a bit like she had been taken advantage of. The whole experience had been kind of shallow and she had never really connected with Indra's personality. She had received the confirmation that she was still attractive and that she could have another man, but why had this been so important to her?
She suddenly realized that she had fallen into Maya's trap. Maya had fooled her into thinking that she was missing out on something, that it would be valuable to get some affirmation about her sex appeal from someone besides her husband. And she? She had been so eager to follow her curiosity and to test her power to attract men that she had not been able to see the trap. Suddenly,she laughed out loud about her foolishness and she understood that the experience had taught her a lesson. She felt a deep relief. She finally knew that she really loved her husband and that she was so lucky to have him. Did he not tell her plenty of times how beautiful she was? She now felt calm, but she still faced the problem of telling her husband. Well, her curiosity to experience another lover and to confirm her attractiveness was surely gone. Actually, she felt like having a big celebration when her husband came back. If he loved her as much as she thought he did, then he would be happy together with her about her transformation. Her husband had always been very supportive and understanding. Why should it be different this time? "Whatever your next trick," she told Maya, I am planning to let Dharma guide me from now on, and thus I hope to transcend all the hurdles of my life.
When her husband, who was very much enlightened, came home and heard her story, he hugged her and they made love together. Yes, I am telling the truth here. He had indeed shown her his love, understanding and forgiveness, because he was happy about her honesty and trust in him. He had always felt that there was something that had kept a small distance between them and he felt that this little distance had now disappeared." -
Tears streamed down Ahadyla's eyes. Did Karaman know her story? This was clearly a message to her. Did he want to encourage her to confess her adventure with her lover to her husband? Did he suggest that she would receive his understanding and love in return? If she would make it back to the shore alive, then that would be exactly what she would do. She felt a deep peace after she had made up her mind to get her life in order. Karaman looked at her and he seemed to understand.Had she come here on this boat to learn a lesson on how to escape Maya, the queen of illusion? Ahadyla had heard of Maya before, but she never had noticed her in her own life. She decided that she would study these new concepts of Maya and Dharma and no matter what her husband would say, she wanted to live a life of truth.