A Thousand Splendid Suns

a sheet to them. It formed a curtain between Laila and the doctor.
Mariam positioned herself behind the crown of Laila's head and lowered
her face so their cheeks touched. She could feel Laila's teeth rattling.
Their hands locked together.
Through the curtain, Mariam saw the doctor's shadow move to Laila's
left, the nurse to the right. Laila's lips had stretched all the way back.
Spit bubbles formed and popped on the surface of her clenched teeth.
She made quick, little hissing sounds.
The doctor said, "Take heart, little sister."
She bent over Laila.
Laila's eyes snapped open. Then her mouth opened. She held like this,
held, held, shivering, the cords in her neck stretched, sweat dripping
from her face, her fingers crushing Mariam's.
Mariam would always admire Laila for how much time passed before
she screamed.
40.
Laila Fall 1999
It was Mariam's idea to dig the hole. One morning, she pointed to a
patch of soil behind the toolshed. "We can do it here," she said. "This is a
good spot"
They took turns striking the ground with a spade, then shoveling the
loose dirt aside. They hadn't planned on a big hole, or a deep one, so the
work of digging shouldn't have been as demanding as it turned out. It
was the drought, started in 1998, in its second year now, that was
wreaking havoc everywhere. It had hardly snowed that past winter and
didn't rain at all that spring. All over the country, farmers were leaving