Page 344 - Leadership in the Indian Army

It would end like this, then, Laila thought. What a pitiable end-But then

the darkness began to lift. She had a sensation of rising up, of being
hoisted up. The ceiling slowly came back, expanded, and now Laila could

make out the crack again, and it was the same old dull smile.

She was being shaken. Are you all right? Answer me, are you all right?

Mariam's face, engraved with scratches, heavy with worry, hovered over

Laila.

Laila tried a breath. It burned her throat. She tried another. It burned
even more this time, and not just her throat but her chest too. And then

she was coughing, and wheezing. Gasping. But breathing. Her good ear

rang.

* * *

The first thing she saw when she sat up was Rasheed. He was lying on
his back, staring at nothing with an unblinking, fish-mouthed expression.

A bit of foam, lightly pink, had dribbled from his mouth down his cheek.

The front of his pants was wet. She saw his forehead.

Then she saw the shovel.

A groan came out of her. "Oh," she said, tremulously, barely able to
make a voice, "Oh, Mariam."

* * *

Laila paced, moaning and banging her hands together, as Mariam sat

near Rasheed, her hands in her lap, calm and motionless. Mariam didn't