Nar­in lis­tens intent­ly as her grand­moth­er recounts sto­ries of the lamas­sus, the myth­i­cal crea­tures from their ancient past that once stood guard over their home­land. Grandma’s tale explains that these mag­nif­i­cent stat­ues, which now reside in for­eign muse­ums, were once revered sym­bols of their cul­ture and its strength. Although Nar­in ini­tial­ly strug­gles to ful­ly believe in these fan­tas­ti­cal sto­ries, her grand­moth­er reas­sures her of the deep sig­nif­i­cance these crea­tures held for their ances­tors. The grand­moth­er also teach­es her the pow­er of sto­ry­telling, explain­ing that it serves as a ves­sel for pre­serv­ing truth, even when wrapped in myth. This res­onates deeply with Nar­in, mak­ing her see sto­ry­telling not just as enter­tain­ment but as a pow­er­ful link to the past that shapes their iden­ti­ty and cul­ture.

As their con­ver­sa­tion shifts, Grand­ma speaks with rev­er­ence about the land that sus­tains them. She stress­es that their peo­ple have always treat­ed the earth as sacred and share a pro­found respect for nature’s pow­er. This con­nec­tion to the earth is evi­dent in their tra­di­tions, such as the avoid­ance of mar­riages in April, a month ded­i­cat­ed to fer­til­i­ty and the nat­ur­al cycles of renew­al. Grand­ma’s sto­ries of a Yazi­di woman’s bewil­der­ment at the bathing cus­toms in Ger­many illus­trate the con­trast in cul­tur­al prac­tices and fur­ther empha­size the respect for water with­in their soci­ety. Water, in this con­text, is not just a neces­si­ty; it is an ele­ment that holds the essence of life and must be respect­ed accord­ing­ly. Nar­in is struck by the real­iza­tion that these prac­tices and beliefs are not only about sur­vival but about liv­ing in har­mo­ny with nature and the world around them.

Grand­ma con­tin­ues her sto­ry­telling, reveal­ing the per­son­al rit­u­als she fol­lows to con­nect with the celes­tial world. Every morn­ing and evening, she offers prayers to the ris­ing and set­ting sun, a way to hon­or the forces that gov­ern the uni­verse. For her, the Tigris Riv­er holds a spe­cial place in her heart, sym­bol­iz­ing the flow of life and the mys­ter­ies of nature. She shares with Nar­in the sacred­ness of ash in their heal­ing prac­tices, and how numbers—especially seven—hold deep spir­i­tu­al sig­nif­i­cance, guid­ing deci­sions and actions in their lives. Grandma’s wis­dom extends to the realm of emo­tions, teach­ing Nar­in the impor­tance of wait­ing for a week before act­ing on intense feel­ings, believ­ing that this time allows clar­i­ty and wis­dom to guide deci­sions. This les­son not only high­lights the patience required in life but also the impor­tance of emo­tion­al bal­ance and under­stand­ing.

As the con­ver­sa­tion deep­ens, Grand­ma uses the metaphor of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers to con­vey deep­er truths about life. She explains that the Tigris is pow­er­ful, fierce, and untam­able, while the Euphrates, though gen­tler, still requires inner strength and resilience to nav­i­gate. For Grand­ma, these rivers embody dif­fer­ent aspects of life itself, where tran­quil­i­ty is not the absence of tur­moil, but the strength to endure it grace­ful­ly. Nar­in, absorb­ing her grandmother’s teach­ings, begins to under­stand that true peace comes not from avoid­ing hard­ship but from con­fronting it with respect and wis­dom. These lessons will stay with Nar­in, shap­ing her per­spec­tive on life, rela­tion­ships, and her place in the world as she grows old­er.

Grandma’s sto­ries also illus­trate how deeply root­ed their cul­ture is in the rev­er­ence for both the seen and unseen forces of nature. Nar­in real­izes that the wis­dom passed down through gen­er­a­tions is not just about the events of the past, but how these teach­ings shape their dai­ly lives and inter­ac­tions with the world. Grandma’s words leave Nar­in with a pro­found sense of con­nec­tion to her ances­tors and to the earth they inhab­it, inspir­ing her to hon­or the past while also embrac­ing the chal­lenges of the present. As the chap­ter draws to a close, Nar­in is not just learn­ing about her culture’s his­to­ry, but also gain­ing a deep­er under­stand­ing of her­self and her place with­in the ever-flow­ing stream of life.