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Summary: Chapter 3, Nya: Southern Sudan, 2008

Closer to the pond, the grey horizon turns olive green. Women and children, and boys who have brought cattle to graze are there. Birds fly about. As Nya walks, dirt becomes mud, then sludge, then water that reaches her ankles. Nya unties her gourd that is tied to the plastic container, fills it with muddy water, and drinks. She then fills the large container and reties the gourd. She arranges a cloth doughnut on her head, then places the full container on it. She balances the container with one hand and walks, foot aching from the thorn. The walk back will take longer, but she might be home by noon.

Summary: Chapter 3, Salva: Southern Sudan, 1985

Salva’s eyes well with tears. Surely they’ve left him there because he is a child who will be too much of a bother. On the horizon, he sees smoke from the bombings. Closer to him is a pond, with a woman sitting beside it. He is relieved to see, on her forehead, the ritual scar patterns of the Dinka tribe, the same tribe as Salva. The Dinkas have been fighting against the rival Nuer tribe for hundreds of years. They fight over the land with the most water. 

The woman looks up. He greets her, calling her “Auntie.” She goes into her house and returns with peanuts which she gives to Salva. He thanks her. After he has eaten, the woman asks Salva where his people are. On the verge of tears, he is unable to answer. She asks if he is an orphan, and he shakes his head no. He tells her what happened that day at school. 

The woman allows Salva to stay in her barn. He makes plans to return home when the fighting stops. Salva helps the woman gather firewood and brings her water from the pond, which grows drier each day. Four days pass and the woman tells Salva she must leave. The dry season is here and fighting continues. She will not allow him to travel with her, fearing he will draw the attention of the soldiers. 

Back in the barn, Salva wonders what he will do, where he will go. He hears voices outside. Men approach. They have the Dinka pattern on their foreheads. Would Salva’s family be among them?

Summary: Chapter 4, Nya: Southern Sudan, 2008

At home, Nya’s mother empties the water into three jars. Nya sits in the shade and eats a bowl of boiled sorghum and milk. Inside, her mother nurses her brother. She tells Nya to take her younger sister, Akeer, back to the pond. Nya thinks five-year-old Akeer is too young, but their mother insists that Akeer needs to learn. 

Nya holds Akeer’s hand in one hand, and the empty plastic container in the other. She walks to the pond for the second time that day. Seven months out of the year, Nya walks all day, every day. 

Summary: Chapter 4, Salva: Southern Sudan, 1985

The strangers approach, none are family. The old woman asks if they will take Salva with them. The men are hesitant. He will slow them down. He will eat their food. A woman silently communicates with the man next to her. Salva is Dinka, and he will travel with them. Other men complain, but it is settled. The old woman gives Salva peanuts and an empty gourd, and he runs to catch up to the group. He does not ask where they are going, away from the war is enough. 

Salva suffers mind-numbing hunger on this walk to nowhere. He falls behind and finds himself walking with Buksa, from the Jur-chol tribe. The two walk slowly. Buksa stops suddenly. Jur-chols know that the sound of a honey-bird will lead them to a beehive. Buksa walks quickly toward the sound and spots the hive. Salva runs to tell the others.

Analysis: Chapters 3–4

When Nya arrives at her destination in Chapter 3, the narration expands to include descriptors and details beyond the simplicity of the first two chapters. Nya reaches the pond, which the reader now knows was her destination; readers might imagine the relief her tired, thorn-punctured feet feel as she wades into the water that she has come to collect into her empty container. But this relief is nothing like the relief the two gourds full of water provide as she drinks to quench her thirst. The figurative language Park uses mirrors the life Nya finds there: “the smudge on the horizon gained color as Nya drew nearer, changing from hazy gray to olive green.” Color and sounds, people and birds, and boys with their herds of cattle enter the scene, but, most importantly, it is the life-giving water that matters. 

The weight of the responsibility on Nya is evident. Her family relies on her, every day, to bring water from the pond. The reader can imagine the balancing act of Nya placing the container of water on her head, while knowing that the members of her family depend on her to deliver it full upon her arrival home. The weight of the responsibility bears more greatly upon her than the weight of the water. She bears both weights home on thorn-torn feet. When she returns home with the water, Nya’s responsibility expands as she takes her younger sister’s hand and begins the journey back to the pond to fill the empty container once again. Five-year-old Akeer must also learn to contribute to the family’s survival, and it is Nya’s duty to teach and guide her.

Salva’s hopefulness, even after members of his own village have abandoned him because he is a child and likely a burden, exposes his naiveté when he meets an old woman. Salva is relieved to identify her as Dinka—of his tribe—because she certainly will help him. Her kind gestures give Salva hope, and he recognizes that he must prove his worth. Surely, if he works hard and contributes to the old woman’s well-being, she will recognize his value and allow him to stay. But, when the dry season forces the woman to leave and she is worried Salva will draw the attention of soldiers, she asks another group of his tribe to take him with them. He is young, he is slow, he will eat their food, but he is Dinka. The strength of the tribal ties overcomes their reluctance, and they allow him to join them. Salva’s hope is renewed.

Though Nya and Salva are separated by time, several similarities emerge between their lives as their stories progress. When Nya reaches the pond, she sees boys with their herds of cattle, which they have brought there to drink. The reader knows from Salva’s daydream in Chapter 1 that he and his brothers were tasked with herding cattle. Nya’s act of drawing water from a pond, water her family depends on for survival, parallels Salva’s task of drawing water from a pond for “Auntie,” who also depends on it for survival. At this point, it is known that Nya has a younger sister who must learn to share in the domestic responsibilities, just as Salva’s sisters do. However, at this stage of the story, it is unclear as to which tribe Nya’s family belongs.

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