Evening. Krishna wishes goodnight — shubha-ratri — to his parents and friends, goes into his bed-chamber and lies down, waiting for everyone to fall asleep. At the very same hour Radhika bids farewell to her own household — the mother-in-law, the sister-in-law, all that watchful, prickly family she lives with. She gets into bed and pretends to be sleeping, while she only waits for them at last to drop off. Then, sure that all are asleep, the two slip out for a secret rendezvous — through the forest, into a bower of flowers, a pavilion on the bank of the Yamuna, a cave of Govardhan. It is so hard for them to meet, so many obstacles — yet, overcoming them all, toward morning they fall asleep in each other's arms, happy and fulfilled. But the sun is about to rise: they must wake, gather their things and steal back to their villages — Radhika to Yavat, Krishna to Nandagaon — creep into their bed-chambers, pull up the sheets, and pretend they were home the whole night.