Summary

Beginning Again: Nirmal and Horen left Morichjhapi and sailed back towards Lusibari. Nirmal could not sit still and he told Horen that the visit to the island had “transformed” (179) him. When Horen asked him what he would teach the refugee children Nirmal said that he would teach them about geology, mythology, the Ganga River, and the Indian subcontinent. He would also teach them about the dolphins that lived in the ocean but evolved to live in the rivers, and about love. “Why should an old schoolmaster deny that which even the old mythmakers acknowledge? Love flows deep in the rivers” (182)

Landfall: Fighting against the currents, Fokir and Piya arrive in Lusibari late evening. Fokir leads Piya to Nilima’s home but quickly departs, leaving Piya with an “icy feeling of abandonment” (184). Nilima opens the door...