A Thousand Splendid Suns
PART TWO Kabul, Spring 1987 ine year old Laila rose from bed, as she did most mornings, hungry for the sight of her friend T ...
pari, a stunner, Mammy said. Her beauty was the talk of the valley. It skipped two generations of women in our family, but it su ...
ritual, like brushing teeth. Babi ran his finger through the rip. "I'll patch this as soon as I get a chance. We'd better go." H ...
She said that the Soviet Union was the best nation in the world, along with Afghanistan. It was kind to its workers, and its peo ...
grade once and fourth grade twice. What she lacked in smarts Hasina made up for in mischief and a mouth that, Giti said, ran lik ...
She said nothing of these things to Hasina, though, whose own father was an ill-tempered taxi driver who in two or three years w ...
he gun was red, the trigger guard bright green. Behind the gun loomed Khadim's grinning face. Khadim was eleven, like Tariq. ...
happened if Mammy had shown up like she was supposed to either. Sometimes Laila wondered why Mammy had even bothered having her. ...
Mammy always spoke this way about Babi. A time when her parents did not sleep in separate rooms. Laila wished she hadn't missed ...
Beneath Mammy's bed, Laila could see the corner of Ahmad's shoe box protruding. From time to time, Mammy showed her the old, cru ...
"I have a headache." "Should I fetch you some aspirin?" Mammy massaged her temples. "Maybe later. Is your father home?" "It's on ...
"So you're clean, then." Mammy turned her tired gaze to the window. "You're clean, and everything is fine." Laila stood up. "I h ...
week passed, but there was still no sign of Tariq. Then another week came and went. To fill the time, Laila fixed the screen ...
The tiny bristles scratched Laila's palm pleasantly. Tariq wasn't like some of the other boys, whose hair concealed cone shaped ...
"Heart attack. His second," Tariq's mother said, giving her husband an admonishing look. Tariq's father blew smoke and winked at ...
Pashtuns, who were the largest ethnic group in Afghanistan. Tajiks have always felt slighted, Babi had said. Pashiun kings ruled ...
What are you crying for? He'd strapped his leg back on. You asked to see it, you giryanok, you crybaby! If I'd known you were go ...
"I was trying to annoy you," she said. He gave her a sidelong glance. "It worked." But she thought his grimace softened. And she ...
Khadim never bothered Laila again. That night, as most nights, Laila set the dinner table for two only. Mammy said she wasn't h ...
and work alongside men. God forbid that should happen! Babi liked to say sarcastically. Then he would sigh, and say, Laila, my l ...
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