Same Sun Here

On the bus ride to the capital, everyone sings old mountain songs that River has grown up with. He talks to Chandra, Dr. Patel’s wife, for most of the ride, and when he recounts the events of the rock fall to her, she starts crying. Chandra tells River his story reminds her of something that happened to her brother in Mumbai.

When they arrive at the capitol building, the entire road is filled with 10,000 people holding signs who came to march with them. River carries a sign along with a jar of the orange water from the creek, and he feels defiant as he silently marches to the capitol steps in the cold. The governor comes out to answer questions, but River notices he avoids the questions, rather than answering them directly. Mawmaw asks about the water pollution, and the governor responds that he would “drink out of any stream in Eastern Kentucky” (238). The crowd reacts with boos and chants, and River senses tension building. He steps forward and holds out his jar of orange creek water to the governor and says, “Drink it, then” (239). He explains that the water was taken out of the once clean creek by his house, and the governor declines to drink the water.

Mawmaw is proud of River for his bravery. All the media photographers photographed his simple interaction with the governor, and now the news will bring attention to their protest without the need for anyone to get arrested. The rest of the day, everyone tells River how brave he was, and on the bus ride home that night, he falls asleep with his head in Chandra’s lap, exhausted. 

Meena is proud of River’s courage and thankful for his friendship. Once the weather got warmer, Kiku was able to give her the birthday present he planned for her—a special day riding all over the city. Kiku takes her to the Hudson River and to see Ana Maria’s family fruit cart, where she sells mango sticks with her uncle. Meena loves the mangoes covered in salt, lemon, and chili pepper, and plans to eat some with River if he ever comes to New York.

Her special day continues when Kiku takes her to the George Washington Bridge and to a lighthouse. Meena appreciates Kiku treating her as a friend, and they talk about Dadi and revel in the lack of city sounds by the river. Kiku shares a secret with her: once he skipped school and rode to New Jersey to see their Daddy. Meena and Kiku respect how hard their parents work and plan to work hard to take care of their parents one day.

When they get home late, their mum is worried and says that two more people in their building have been evicted. They pack a suitcase in case they have to leave unexpectedly, and Meena carefully chooses the items she will take. 

The picture of River holding out the jar of orange creek water to the governor is on the cover of Time magazine. Some people in town are proud of River, like his teacher, while others are cruel and call he and Mawmaw “tree huggers” (253). 

River scores the winning basket to beat the big city school’s team. Despite losing some of their best players because of the rock fall, the team is stronger because of the accident. After winning, they all gather around Mark, and River realizes that, “if you work hard for something you can succeed” (256). Even though winning feels good, he takes greater pride in playing fairly and doing his best.