‘Hunt for her,’ said Moni. ‘Catch her something to eat.’

So Iman was sent to hunt and she came back with a mouse and a toad. To Salma, the taste and texture did not matter. All she wanted was to build her muscles again. But it would take more than food. They had to keep going, keep moving; they must return.

The land turned rocky, its colours lighter than before, the vegetation thinner. They passed a group of people whose mouths were sealed across with stiches and whose eyes blazed with shame. ‘What have you done to deserve this?’ Salma asked. They must have spread lies, she thought, or bore false witness; they must have killed with their tongues. They must have said yes when it should have been no. They must have ruined lives with a word or more than one word. ‘What have you done?’ But no one could answer her, they could not move their lips. At the end, one of them pointed to an inscription on the rocks. ‘They kept silent when they should have spoken out.’

Iman, Salma and Moni kept on moving. To protect Salma from the path that was now rocky, Iman carried her on her back while Moni rolled along. This slowed them down, so they went back to dragging Salma on the ground, bumping her along, while she kept her eyes shut and tried not to cry out from the pain.

The landscape turned mountainous around them. There were no longer any trees or any shade, just the sun pressing down on them, scorching their heads and stabbing their eyes. A path led them up to a hill and the cool interior of a cave. As soon as they stepped in, they heard the drip-drop sound of water, touched the wet walls and their eyes were soothed by the shadows that flickered around the cave. Further in was a hot spring, its water releasing vapours that were irresistible. Thirsty and dirty, they did not even confer but plunged in: Moni with a splash, Iman diving head first, pulling Salma with her. The water was everything they needed. It was comfort and welcome.

Iman felt the water penetrate the fur of her coat, reach deep to her skin. Her human skin was buried under the fur, a distant mark of her identity. She dived down and found that she could hold her breath for longer. She was like a seal, gliding away from her friends and back again. She felt the strength of her body and when she opened her eyes under the water, her tongue was safe in her mouth, her legs were her legs, her lower body that of a woman, her feet human. She struck through the surface of the water, pulled herself up but found that she was exactly how she had been when she first dived in.