A Thousand Splendid Suns

"What are you talking about?" she stammered.
"Her denying me. You're teaching her to."
Over the years, Mariam had learned to harden herself against his scorn
and reproach, his ridiculing and reprimanding. But this fear she had no
control over. All these years and still she shivered with fright when he
was like this, sneering, tightening the belt around his fist, the creaking of
the leather, the glint in his bloodshot eyes. It was the fear of the goat,
released in the tiger's cage, when the tiger first looks up from its paws,
begins to growl-Now the girl was in the room, her eyes wide, her face
contorted
"I should have known that you'd corrupt her," Rasheed spat at Mariam.
He swung the belt, testing it against his own thigh. The buckle jingled
loudly.
"Stop it, basl" the girl said. "Rasheed, you can't do this."
"Go back to the room."
Mariam backpedaled again.
"No! Don't do this!"
Now!
Rasheed raised the belt again and this time came at Mariam.
Then an astonishing thing happened: The girl lunged at him. She
grabbed his arm with both hands and tried to drag him down, but she
could do no more than dangle from it. She did succeed in slowing
Rasheed's progress toward Mariam.
"Let go!" Rasheed cried.
"You win. You win. Don't do this. Please, Rasheed, no beating! Please
don't do this."
They struggled like this, the girl hanging on, pleading, Rasheed trying
to shake her off, keeping his eyes on Mariam, who was too stunned to do