Seeker of Stars: A Novel Read Online Free PDF

her—she would do well. It had been only a month since she had first spoken to our father. I marveled at the accepting nature of the child who questioned neither why she had never known her father nor why he had suddenly appeared in her life.
     
    The next two days we traveled on our own again, our camels stepping gingerly over the fallen rock on the twisting track. We stopped at three small villages, lowering our moving bed by seven rugs.
    The instant we arrived in a village, Taz would assess the situation. He would nod at Salvi, who’d spring down from the caravan and begin unloading rugs in front of the most prosperous-looking tent. Salvi would carefully lay the rugs in the sunlight, with winks at the girls who peered out from their tents, figs for the small children who ran up to touch his robes, and kicks at the dogs who sniffed the rugs. Taz was slower to dismount, and when he did, he carried a skin of wine and a broad smile. In our short journey I watched Taz share the skin with many different men, laughing and convincing them of their prosperity and their need for new rugs.
    At the first stop, I was unsure of my role and was happy to observe, but Taz would have none of this—he called me down and insisted that my presence on this journey was essential, that he had brought with him an expert rug maker. I could see that many of the men were impressed, bright raisin eyes fixed upon me. I hid my right hand in my sleeve and played my role, if awkwardly. Taz was exuberant in his enthusiasm and said sales had never been so good. Still, the selling had little appeal to me, and I realized that though I had dreaded the making of the rugs, I had enjoyed the quiet freedom of creating patterns in solitude while my mind roamed the skies.
    What I liked best was watching how well my brother was suited for his role as a merchant, a man of the world, a traveler. I was happy in Salvi’s happiness. I could see that he was now Taz’s equal and that the two of them had worked out a partnership without competition, though they were so much alike. I was glad of Salvi’s success.
    He was doing his part in fulfilling the pattern of our family. I had done mine reluctantly though well, but the accident had set me free onto the edge of a new life. Our paths were diverging, and at some level we knew it and had begun to grow apart. Already Leyla was an unspoken subject between us. I knew my brother had long admired her, but so had many others. I had not felt I was wronging Salvi, but twitches of his mouth when he saw her with me made me silent about her in his presence.
    Only in order to study the stars was I leaving. Though I was eager, the new life awaiting me was foreign and unimaginable. I realized this the night we made camp outside the city. Taz and Salvi had miscalculated the time and distance, and our afternoon nap had meant that the city gates were closed by the time we arrived.
    I was disappointed. The knot of anxiety and excitement that had filled my stomach all day dissolved into a kind of frustration. Taz simply shrugged, saying he was a better cook than any the city could offer, and set about making camp for the night.
    I wandered off toward the city. I could see lamps illuminated within. I touched the still-warm bricks of the city wall. What did these walls contain? What did they keep out? Would I feel penned like a goat? One thing I knew: the walls contained the knowledge I sought. What knowledge it was I could not say exactly, other than that I wanted to know it all. I had begun to feel similarly about Leyla. I wanted to know her thoughts, her dreams, her secrets, but when I asked her about such things, she giggled and said no more. I hoped studying with the astronomers would help me open the mysteries behind the giggle of the stars.
    My stomach rumbled, and I turned back toward our caravan. The stars were already bright in the darkening sky, and I was enjoying my beauties when suddenly I heard voices. Every muscle in my body