Cricket201909

(Lars) #1

patiently and carefully blew away the yel-
low turmeric residue and white sugar dust
on the pages before starting to read. How
well written and enticing the words were! It
was a good story. I sat there until I had read
all eight pages. Candidly, I had never read
a book before, except for my textbooks. But
when I read those eight pages, I realized that
I now loved reading! The only problem was
that the story stopped right at the best part,
right at the end of page 22, which was the
most pivotal and exciting point in the story.
It was about a boy who wanted to run
away from home and escape his father who
was always spanking him, but the boy was
afraid. He finally left home but didn’t know
where to go. I was excited to find out where
he would go and what would happen to him.
I decided to go back and get the rest of
the book from Mash Assadollah, no mat-
ter what it took, so that I could satisfy my
curiosity. I ran down to the corner as fast as
I could. Breathless, I gasped, “Hello, Mash
Assadollah, sir.” I tried speaking politely to
be more effective. “Where is the rest of that
book? Could you please kindly give it to me?
I’ll read it and bring it right back to you so
that you can use it for anything you want to.”
Mash Assadollah didn’t know what I was
talking about. He furled his eyebrows and
asked, “What book, son? I don’t have any
books in my shop.”
I tried to be convincing. “Please, I beg
you to tell me what you did with that book!
The one that you tore pages from and then
used the pages to wrap tobacco and sugar


cubes! What did you do with it? Where is the
rest of that book?”
The old man frowned in surprise and dis-
belief. His lips softened as he moistened them
and said, “What do you want with the rest of
the book?”
To butter him up, I removed one of the
trays of his scale, carried it out the door,
brushed the sugar off outside by the wall,

MASH IS A TERM OF RESPECT
FOR SOMEONE WHO HAS MADE A
PILGRIMAGE TO THE SHRINE IN THE
CITY OF MASHAD.

CANDIDLY MEANS
HONEST LY.

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