Gun Island

Deen arrives in Venice and wanders around the old Jewish conclave, which was historically known as the “Ghetto.” He tries to imagine it through the eyes of the Gun Merchant. He understands why the Merchant felt safe here, as almost everything is humanmade. While daydreaming about the Merchant, Deen finds himself slipping into the perspective of Manasa Devi. He imagines her to be not a wrathful goddess, but an intermediary of communication between humans and snakes. Deen understands that Manasa Devi needed to look for the Merchant because the latter was chasing profit with little regard to what happens to other living beings in the process. Passing underneath some scaffolding, Deen is almost crushed by a falling chunk of plaster, but stops in time when someone calls out a warning in Bangla. Deen discovers that the person is Rafi, who indicates to Deen not to say anything in front of the other workers. Privately, Rafi tells Deen that the others believe he is from Bangladesh. Deen asks Rafi about Tipu, and how he landed up in Venice; Rafi is defensive about the former, and defers telling him about the latter.

Rafi takes Deen to Lubna-khala, a Bangladeshi woman who has been in Venice for two decades, helping migrants like Rafi.