Wild Jasmine Read Online Free PDF Page A

Salim Muhammad desired to rule India. He would do nothing to jeopardize that.
    Yasaman came running back to them, chattering even as she came. “Salim says he will take me on a tiger hunt soon! Several of the beasts have been sighted near Agra. Can I go, Mama Begum? Can I go? Please! Please! ” She danced around the two women.
    “We are leaving for Kashmir shortly, my daughter,” her foster mother told her. “It is your father’s wish that you spend most of the year there rather than here in Lahore. The climate is better for you.”
    “I don’t want to go to Kashmir,” Yasaman pouted. “I want to go on a tiger hunt with Salim. I never have any fun!”
    “No fun! No fun!” Hiraman Parrot said, and the beautiful bird shook his head from side to side sadly.
    They looked, astounded, at him for a brief moment and then began to laugh. Even Yasaman was unable to keep from giggling, and her bad mood instantly dissipated.
    “Hiraman Parrot is so funny,” she bubbled, and then she turned to her grandmother. “He really is the best present I have ever had!”
    Mariam Makani smiled at her youngest grandchild, showing betel-stained teeth. “I am glad to have made you so happy, child,” she said. “Hiraman Parrot will remind you of me while I am away from you.”
    “Why do you not come to Kashmir, Grandmother?” Yasaman asked.
    “Because I am an old lady, my child, and I love my home best of all. I have traveled much in my life, but I do not have to travel now if I do not want to, and I do not. I am happiest amongst my own things.”
    “I love Kashmir,” Yasaman said. “I love the palace there that Papa built for Candra that is now mine. I love the lakes and the mountains. It is so peaceful.”
    “Do you not like Lahore?” her grandmother asked.
    “Not as much as Kashmir,” Yasaman replied. “Lahore is such a large and noisy city, Grandmother. I do not like its walls, and I cannot see the mountains unless I go outside the city. The land is so dry, except near the canals which draw water from the river that runs by the city. How can a land be so brown and arid with a river in its midst, Grandmother?”
    Mariam Makani shook her head. “I do not know, my child.Perhaps you should ask your tutor. The Christian priests claim to know everything.” She frowned slightly and then continued, “But this palace is a fine place to live, is it not? You are not crowded within the zenana like the other women of this family. You have your own little palace within the palace gardens. Did you know that your Mama Begum and Papa played here as children?”
    Yasaman nodded her head, smiling. “Mama Begum says that Papa used to catch beetles and chase her with them. Big, black, ugly beetles!” she said, making an ugly face. Hunching her shoulders and raising her hands up, she wiggled her fingers pretending to be a beetle.
    Rugaiya Begum recoiled in mock horror, which sent her daughter into a fresh fit of giggles, particularly as her mother cried out, “Oh, Yasaman, do not do that! It terrifies me so!” Then, reaching out, she pulled the little girl into her warm embrace and hugged her. “Do not contort your beautiful face so, my darling. What if a wicked jinn saw you thus and liked it enough to cast a spell upon you so it would always remain that way?”
    “Ohhh, no Mama Begum!” Yasaman gasped, quickly looking about, her turquoise eyes wide, and she snuggled into her mother’s arms.
    Rugaiya Begum chuckled. “I think it is time for you to bid your grandmother farewell, my daughter. Both Balna and Hiraman Parrot look tired and need to be shown to their quarters. Take them to Adali.”
    “Yes, Mama Begum,” the child answered, slipping from Rugaiya’s arms, kissing her on the cheek as she drew away. “Good-bye, Grandmother. I am so happy you came to visit with me today.” Yasaman kissed the old lady on both of her cheeks. “I hope you will come to see me again very soon.”
    “And bring you another wonderful present,