Heartbroken

Well I definitely didn’t expect that.

The ending of Memory of Water left me with many questions. What was the complete story found in the CDs? What happened to Sanja’s family? What will happen when the soldiers find Noira’s body? What will happen to the spring after her death? Itaranta’s indeterminate ending is parallel to the uncertain post-climate change future. As the readers of this cli-fi are left with many unanswered questions, the generations that will come after will us will definitely have questions. Like Noira, the people will ask if we cared for the environment or if we jut decided to use it until the waters became dry veins on the Earth. In fact, we ourselves should start asking questions now. What can we do to prevent the potential horrendous future?

When Noria realized that she was dying, she decided to write everything down in her Tea Master’s book. “I summoned the spirits surrounding me and caught them between the covers with all other things lost, until I had scribbled across every last inch of paper and my wrist ached” (pg 256). This is part was really significant to me. Noria doesn’t have any offsprings who will become tea masters and will read her books after death. Her writing will basically be unread. Although she knows this, she still writes, pouring her heart and secrets into the book. She shares her shared secret, something no other tea master did with the hope that someone will find the book and continue her plans. This scene just touched my heart.

In my previous post, I thought that death would come to Sanja because of the “dark and narrow figure” (pg 110) was in front of her house. However, a few pages later when I read Noria saw the dark figure looking at her, I felt my blood freeze. The explicit foreshadowing was enough to let me know Noria was going to be in trouble, or worse- succumb to death. I pushed the idea towards the back of my mind. When I read about her death in the end, I felt just like how I did when I read about Dumbledore’s death in the Harry Potter Series. I didn’t want to believe it. I really didn’t.

The epic twist in the epilogue left me conflicted. I was happy that Sanja was alive but sad to find out her family was taken away when they weren’t directly involved in the water crimes. When Sanja gave the CDs to Lian Kaitio, I was inexplicably furious. Lian has no right to hold Noria’s findings. Noria worked so hard to organize the stories in the CDs in order to venture out to the lost lands. Her mother neither had interest in the ways of the water and nor in the tea master’s work. I think Lian would not try to find the Lost Lands with Sanja because she would not risk her work or her life.

Sometimes I forget that the main character is our age. Because of her responsibilities and her actions, I sometimes forgot she was still young. Noria suffered so much and my heart breaks for her. She died with so many questions. She died with the thought of her dead mother, father, and the possible death of Sanja. She didn’t deserve this. Do I wish Itaranta had written out a different fate for her? Yes, I really do. But it is okay because everything happens for a certain reason.