37.Mariam SEPTEMBER 1996Two and a half years later, Mariam awoke on the morning of September 27 to the sounds of shouting and whistling, firecrackers and music. She ran to the living room, found Laila already at the window, Aziza mounted on her shoul
35.MariamFrom that night on, Mariam and Laila did their chores together. They sat in the kitchen and rolled dough, chopped green onions, minced garlic, offered bits of cucumber to Aziza, who banged spoons nearby and played with carrots. In the yard,
33.MariamEarly one morning the next spring, of 1993, Mariam stood by the living-room window and watched Rasheed escort the girl out of the house. The girl was tottering forward, bent at the waist, one arm draped protectively across the taut drum of h
31.MariamIn the daytime, the girl was no more than a creaking bedspring, a patter of footsteps overhead. She was water splashing in the bathroom, or a teaspoon clinking against glass in the bedroom upstairs. Occasionally, there were sightings: a blur
29.MariamI’m so sorry,” Rasheed said to the girl, taking his bowl of mastawa and meatballs from Mariam without looking at her. “I know you were very close . . . friends . . . the two of you. Always together, since you were kids. It’s a terrible thing
27.MariamDo you know who I am?”The girl’s eyes fluttered.“Do you know what has happened?”The girl’s mouth quivered. She closed her eyes.Swallowed. Her hand grazed her left cheek. She mouthed something.Mariam leaned in closer.“This ear,” the girl brea