A Thousand Splendid Suns

new leg. Tariq said he'd wept at the man's kindness.
With his first month's full salary in his pocket, Tariq had gone to town
and bought Alyona.
"Her fur is perfectly white," Tariq said, smiling. "Some mornings, when
it's snowed all night, you look out the window and all you see of her is
two eyes and a muzzle."
Laila nodded Another silence ensued Upstairs, Zalmai had begun
bouncing his ball again against the wall.
"I thought you were dead," Laila said.
"I know. You told me."
Laila's voice broke. She had to clear her throat, collect herself. "The
man who came to give the news, he was so earnest…Ibelieved him,
Tariq. I wish I hadn't, but I did. And then I felt so alone and scared.
Otherwise, I wouldn't have agreed to marry Rasheed. I wouldn't have…"
"You don't have to do this," he said softly, avoiding her eyes. There was
no hidden reproach, no recrimination, in the way he had said this. No
suggestion of blame.
"But I do. Because there was a bigger reason why I married him.
There's something you don't know, Tariq. Someone. I have to tell you."
* * *