After Sophie Mol had died Margaret Kochamma wasn't the same. She often thought about what had happened and how it had happened. Later we find out that their boat had capsized and that she simply didn't know how to swim, so she was forced underwater to drown. There might have been a point when Estha or Rahel tried to save Sophie, but at that age, I would assume that they themselves would be terrified. "Sophie Mol became a Memory, while The Loss of Sophie Mol grew robust and alive. Like a fruit in season. Every season." I'm not sure if Margaret will ever recover from the traumatizing experience of her own daughter dead before her eyes. I myself would feel almost dead or withered. Rahel and Estha also seem to have been extremely traumatized by the vision of there best friend drowning beside them.