‘The ship arrived on shore and Nathan was on the road again. He was weaker but lighter on his feet, less healthy but quicker. How familiar these chains were to him now! They were almost a part of him. For hours, for days, he would forgot all about them until people pointed them out and asked for an explanation. What he did not forget, however, were his sins and the particular sin that had brought him all this way. He asked forgiveness at every step, under every tree, past every field. At every shrine he came upon, he would kneel and pray. One day, sudden acute hunger distracted him from his prayers. Leaving the shrine, he found a little boy selling fish. The fish were raw and not gutted, but they were available for the meagre sum Nathan could afford. He bought two fish and immediately gave one away to the leper who was always sitting at the entrance to the shrine. Nathan took his fish to a nearby trough of water. He washed it and split it open down the middle. Inside the body of the fish was the sign of his forgiveness.’

‘What was it?’ Iman interrupted.

‘The key, the very same key Nathan had locked his chains with and thrown in the river.’

Before she could speak again, the Hoopoe was gone. When she looked outside the window, there was a speck flying towards the moon.

Chapter Six

Chapter Six