There Are Rivers in the Sky

Zaleekhah enters the dining room after her uncle, where she finds her aunt seated with Lily, Helen’s middle child. Over dinner, they discuss Zaleekhah’s recent work, and she describes how she is part of a team helping restore lost rivers. A number of cities across the world have rivers that were filled in or hidden under pavement to build roadways. Zaleekhah insists on the importance of “returning a lost river to the open air” to prevent the terrible flooding that plagues cities every year (165).

Aunt Malek leaves after dinner to drop Lily off, insinuating that Zaleekhah ought to meet Helen soon. She asks her uncle about this, and he reveals that Helen is stressed because Lily’s health has been poor; the doctors are running tests. Uncle Malek encourages Zaleekhah to meet Helen soon, reminding her that they are sisters.

Zaleekhah reflects on her uncle’s family and her own. Uncle Malek was sent to boarding school when he was eight, and when he returned home three years later for a visit, he learned that his mother had left the family for another man. He never asked about his mother again, and after returning to boarding school, he thrived in his new home country. He rose up the ranks after university, going on to become wealthy and successful and eventually being appointed to the House of the Lords. Zaleekhah’s mother, Uncle Malek’s older sister, came to England much later. She and her husband were both far more enamored by nature than by titles or money; however, water is what eventually spelled their end.

Zaleekhah eventually takes her uncle’s leave, borrowing his book on Nineveh before she goes.

When Arthur is 16, he meets the author Charles Dickens when the latter comes into Bradbury & Evans, determined to change publishers. Dickens realizes that Arthur is the boy Mr. Bradbury was mentoring and claims that he has heard of Arthur’s talent and genius. Mr. Evans eventually enters into a deal with Dickens, and the company goes on to publish a number of Dickens’s novels to great success.

Arthur meets Dickens again several months later when the author comes into the office again early one morning. They have a conversation about cultures and civilizations around the world, with Arthur professing his interest in Nineveh. He confesses that he has not yet been inside the British Museum because he does not have the right attire to enter. Later that week, a package arrives for Arthur from Dickens containing a jacket, waistcoat, trousers, and boots, accompanied by a note encouraging Arthur to travel and see Nineveh and the Tigris for himself someday.

To Narin’s question, Besma explains how the lamassus have been taken away to museums in Europe and America. She gives Narin advice on treating everyone and everything with respect and tells her stories from the olden times, all of which feature water.

Clad in his new clothes, Arthur finally makes his way to the British Museum. Looking for the lamassus, he comes across numerous clay tablets with wedge-shaped impressions on them, which he learns have been brought over from Nineveh as well. While a museum official is unable to explain what these impressions are, Arthur is sure that the signs are a system of writing.

Arthur begins to spend every lunch break at the museum studying the tablets. Owning only one set of suitable clothing, he brushes and airs the set every night to wear again the next day. The museum staff notice Arthur’s regular appearances and notify their superiors, wondering what to do. Thus, one afternoon, Dr. Samuel Birch, who doesn’t recognize Arthur, asks him about his visits and apparent interest in cuneiform.

Arthur reminds Dr. Birch of their meeting many years ago, and Dr. Birch is awed when he realizes that Arthur is able to read the tablets. At Dr. Birch’s request, Arthur explains everything he has learned from the various books he has read and the time he has spent deciphering the writing on the tablets. One of them, for instance, contains a letter from Ashurbanipal’s royal advisor to his brother. Dr. Birch believes that what Arthur has done is remarkable and invites him to help organize the tablets at the museum in return for some remuneration; a thrilled Arthur accepts immediately.

In the cab on the way home, Zaleekhah contemplates the many rivers that have been buried in London over the centuries: River Fleet, River Effra, and River Westbourne. She changes direction and heads to her office instead. On a shelf in Zaleekhah’s office are a few framed photographs; one of them is of herself with her mentor, Professor Berenberg.

Berenberg had worked on a hypothesis of “aquatic memory” late in his life, proposing that “under certain circumstances, water—the universal solvent—retained evidence, or ‘memory,’ of the solute particles that had dissolved in it, no matter how many times it was diluted or purified” (202). He was shunned and vilified for these claims, considered unscientific and unempirical, and yet he continued working on this until he died.

Zaleekhah continued these experiments in secret after Berenberg’s death, until Brian found out. He was furious, and he was further angry and hurt when Zaleekhah confessed to him that she had once been in love with Berenberg. Following the fight over this, Zaleekhah walked out. As Zaleekhah falls asleep in her office, she reflects on how she will always be attracted to people who have a passion for something bigger than themselves.

Arthur begins his work at the museum, and though Dr. Birch only expects him to last a few days, Arthur returns to his work every day with an intense commitment and perseverance. Arthur relishes the work, especially because deciphering cuneiform is a relatively new field, placing him on a level playing ground even with imminent experts.

There are numerous hurdles in Arthur’s way: He only has a few minutes to spare every day, racing over to the museum on every lunch break. The lack of light in winter means that he cannot work on the tablets as fast as he would like to. Additionally, his family gets evicted and is forced to move into a cramped room with three other families, leaving Arthur little time and opportunity to keep himself and his clothes clean.

Arthur’s deteriorating appearance and eccentric mannerisms lead Dr. Birch to decide that he must let Arthur go. However, when he approaches Arthur to have that conversation, Arthur excitedly reveals a discovery he has made: One of the tablets contains not legal or business records, like all the others, but poetry. Intrigued, Dr. Birch allows him to continue, even giving Arthur a gas lamp and a new jacket upon his request. Arthur thus begins piecing together the story of Gilgamesh. Eventually, when he turns 18, he leaves his higher paying job at Bradbury & Evans to accept a full-time position at the museum. He believes that he has found his calling.

On Narin’s request, Besma tells her the story of one of the floods that engulfed the earth, according to Yazidi history. Besma believes that there are cycles in history and nature and that the floods mark the changing of eras.

Narin contemplates the qanun, an instrument gifted to Leila that was then passed down over generations and eventually got her father interested in music. Another equally old, treasured object is a clay tablet that Leila received as a gift and carried with her to Castrum Kefa when she left Nineveh. Besma has even taught Narin to read some of the signs on it.

Narin asks Besma about Leila, and Besma reveals that Leila was a faqra, or “seer.” However, she gave up making predictions after seeing a terrible tragedy that would take place in Nineveh exactly the way she foretold it. The family then became water dowsers.

Arthur walks to work at the museum, where he has been studying tablets for years. On his way, he hears a newspaper boy announce that the famous novelist Charles Dickens has passed away.

The following day, in a presentation before museum trustees, staff, and students, Arthur announces a startling discovery: One of the tablets from Mesopotamia describes a deluge similar to the story of Noah’s ark in the Bible. Since the tablets predate the Bible, there are huge implications of the finding. Arthur’s discovery coincides with discoveries in other sciences and disciplines that seem to concur that the Earth is much older than previously believed. The Epic of Gilgamesh becomes the topic of conversation around the globe, with creationists and scientists alike using it to justify and argue their respective standpoints.

Just like the poem, Arthur himself begins to receive intense attention, and he is invited to give talks all over. At the Society of Biblical Archaeology, Arthur begins his talk by outlining how “the story of humanity cannot be written without the story of water” (230). He then goes on to describe the numerous civilizations that thrived in Mesopotamia. Arthur relates the story of Ashurbanipal and his library, which eventually burned down, and confesses that he hopes to find the missing lines of The Epic of Gilgamesh someday. The Flood Tablet, the 11th in a series of 12, is missing 17 lines. Responding to a journalist’s question, Arthur reiterates his desire to travel to Nineveh on this mission.

The papers are full of Arthur and his work the next day. As he reads the different press reports, he comes across the phrase “the genius from the slums” (234). He remembers his old headmaster’s assertion and feels more nervous than gratified or proud.

On the way to the gallery where Helen works, Zaleekhah notices a tattoo parlor called “The Forgotten Goddess” opposite the museum and cannot help going inside. There, she meets Nen, the woman who owns both Zaleekhah’s houseboat and the tattoo parlor. Hesitant to reveal that it was merely curiosity that brought her there, Zaleekhah mentions a leaking sink on the boat, and Nen promises to come take a look. 

As they make their introductions, Nen reveals that her name is short for “Brennen,” which means “little drop of water” in Irish; Zaleekhah, in turn, reveals that she is a hydrologist. To Zaleekhah’s questions about the symbols on the walls, Nen reveals that she tattoos in cuneiform. To demonstrate, she uses chopsticks to embed Zaleekhah’s name in the logo-syllabic script on a piece of modeling clay. As customers come in, Nen promises to come around on Saturday morning to tend to the sink, as she usually goes mudlarking with her friends by the river.