A Thousand Splendid Suns Read Online Free PDF Page B

Mariam saw a flattened, widened version of herself. The seats were made of white leather. Behind the steering wheel, Mariam saw round glass panels with needles behind them.
    For a moment, Mariam heard Nana’s voice in her head, mocking, dousing the deep-seated glow of her hopes. With shaky legs, Mariam approached the front door of the house. She put her hands on the walls. They were so tall, so foreboding, Jalil’s walls. She had to crane her neck to see where the tops of cypress trees protruded over them from the other side. The treetops swayed in the breeze, and she imagined they were nodding their welcome to her. Mariam steadied herself against the waves of dismay passing through her.
    A barefoot young woman opened the door. She had a tattoo under her lower lip.
    â€œI’m here to see Jalil Khan. I’m Mariam. His daughter.”
    A look of confusion crossed the girl’s face. Then, a flash of recognition. There was a faint smile on her lips now, and an air of eagerness about her, of anticipation. “Wait here,” the girl said quickly.
    She closed the door.
    A few minutes passed. Then a man opened the door. He was tall and square-shouldered, with sleepy-looking eyes and a calm face.
    â€œI’m Jalil Khan’s chauffeur,” he said, not unkindly.
    â€œHis what?”
    â€œHis driver. Jalil Khan is not here.”
    â€œI see his car,” Mariam said.
    â€œHe’s away on urgent business.”
    â€œWhen will he be back?”
    â€œHe didn’t say.”
    Mariam said she would wait.
    He closed the gates. Mariam sat, and drew her knees to her chest. It was early evening already, and she was getting hungry. She ate the gari driver’s toffee. A while later, the driver came out again.
    â€œYou need to go home now,” he said. “It’ll be dark in less than an hour.”
    â€œI’m used to the dark.”
    â€œIt’ll get cold too. Why don’t you let me drive you home? I’ll tell him you were here.”
    Mariam only looked at him.
    â€œI’ll take you to a hotel, then. You can sleep comfortably there. We’ll see what we can do in the morning.”
    â€œLet me in the house.”
    â€œI’ve been instructed not to. Look, no one knows when he’s coming back. It could be days.”
    Mariam crossed her arms.
    The driver sighed and looked at her with gentle reproach.
    Over the years, Mariam would have ample occasion to think about how things might have turned out if she had let the driver take her back to the kolba. But she didn’t. She spent the night outside Jalil’s house. She watched the sky darken, the shadows engulf the neighboring housefronts. The tattooed girl brought her some bread and a plate of rice, which Mariam said she didn’t want. The girl left it near Mariam. From time to time, Mariam heard footsteps down the street, doors swinging open, muffled greetings. Electric lights came on, and windows glowed dimly. Dogs barked. When she could no longer resist the hunger, Mariam ate the plate of rice and the bread. Then she listened to the crickets chirping from gardens. Overhead, clouds slid past a pale moon.
    In the morning, she was shaken awake. Mariam saw that during the night someone had covered her with a blanket.
    It was the driver shaking her shoulder.
    â€œThis is enough. You’ve made a scene. Bas. It’s time to go.”
    Mariam sat up and rubbed her eyes. Her back and neck were sore. “I’m going to wait for him.”
    â€œLook at me,” he said. “Jalil Khan says that I need to take you back now. Right now. Do you understand? Jalil Khan says so.”
    He opened the rear passenger door to the car. “ Bia. Come on,” he said softly.
    â€œI want to see him,” Mariam said. Her eyes were tearing over.
    The driver sighed. “Let me take you home. Come on, dokhtar jo. ”
    Mariam stood up and walked toward him. But then, at the last moment, she changed