At night when the Hoopoe flew into Iman’s room for the second time, she was not surprised. He told her a story about water. His stories made her not think about Ibrahim, not hurt and rage. Water, the Hoopoe said, is the essence of everything. We would not be here without it. He told her about the water djinn who could swim faster than a sailfish. Because they leapt out of the water, they covered more distance. The world of the oceans, the Hoopoe said, is a secret. People think they know, but what they know is only a little of the whole. It’s incomplete. That’s why the unexpected keeps on happening; that’s why so much is out of control. People believe they have tamed the wilderness, mapped the stars, charted every inch of every continent. But there are still surprises out there. To leap up and slap them on the face. To humble them occasionally. Just because they think they know best.

But Iman didn’t know best. Iman knew that she didn’t know. And that was an endearing quality, she had been told. The Hoopoe was entertaining, but he was also a warning of what could go wrong, a warning of what was coming.

‘Disappointment is around every corner,’ he said. ‘The way forward is a circle. The other side is different only because it faces the opposite direction. If everyone could see the end of Time, their hair would turn white in fright.’

‘Where do you live?’ she asked him.

‘In a garden.’

‘Why can’t Salma and Moni see you?’

‘They did see me. But they would not gain anything now from hearing my voice. Not yet.’

‘I didn’t tell them about you. They will tell me I am dreaming. Besides, I want to have a secret all to myself. Something that I don’t share or explain. Tell me a story.’

‘Once upon a time in the snowy part of the earth there was a beautiful girl called Iman. She had blue eyes and blonde hair . . .’

‘No, she didn’t.’

‘Yes, she did. This is not a story about you. It is about another girl, who just happens to share your name. Iman had a jewel, which she had inherited from her mother. The jewel was in a box and Iman kept that box under her bed.’

‘I know what will happen next. Someone will steal the jewel. I just know it . . .’