A Thousand Splendid Suns

"Is this Mullah Faizullah's house?" Laila asks.
"Yes. I am his son, Hamza. Is there something I can do for you,
hamshireh? ”
"I've come here about an old friend of your father's, Mariam."
Hamza blinks. A puzzled look passes across his face. "Mariam…"
"Jalil Khan's daughter."
He blinks again. Then he puts a palm to his cheek and his face lights up
with a smile that reveals missing and rotting teeth. "Oh!" he says. It
comes out sounding like Ohhhhhh, like an expelled breath. "Oh! Mariam!
Are you her daughter? Is she-" He is twisting his neck now, looking
behind her eagerly, searching. "Is she here? It's been so long! Is Mariam
here?"
"She has passed on, I'm afraid."
The smile fades from Hamza's face.
For a moment, they stand there, at the doorway, Hamza looking at the
ground. A donkey brays somewhere.
"Come in," Hamza says. He swings the door open. "Please come in."
* * *
They srr on the floor in a sparsely furnished room. There is a Herati rug
on the floor, beaded cushions to sit on, and a framed photo of Mecca on