Page 37 - And the Mountains Echoed (novel)

her face look oddly catlike.

Hagglers’ calls echoed everywhere. Music blared from virtually every stall.
They walked past open-fronted shops selling books, radios, lamps, and silver-
colored cooking pots. Abdullah saw a pair of soldiers in dusty boots and dark
brown greatcoats, sharing a cigarette, eyeing everyone with bored indifference.
They stopped by a shoe stall. Mrs. Wahdati rummaged through the rows of
shoes displayed on boxes. Uncle Nabi wandered over to the next stall, hands
clasped behind his back, and gave a down-the-nose look at some old coins.
“How about these?” Mrs. Wahdati said to Pari. She was holding up a new
pair of yellow sneakers.

“They’re so pretty,” Pari said, looking at the shoes with disbelief.
“Let’s try them on.”
Mrs. Wahdati helped Pari slip on the shoes, working the strap and buckle for
her. She peered up at Abdullah over her glasses. “You could use a pair too, I
think. I can’t believe you walked all the way from your village in those sandals.”

Abdullah shook his head and looked away. Down the alleyway, an old man
with a ragged beard and two clubfeet begged passersby.
“Look, Abollah!” Pari raised one foot, then the other. She stomped her feet on
the ground, hopped. Mrs. Wahdati called Uncle Nabi over and told him to walk
Pari down the alley, see how the shoes felt. Uncle Nabi took Pari’s hand and led
her up the lane.
Mrs. Wahdati looked down at Abdullah.

“You think I’m a bad person,” she said. “The way I spoke earlier.”
Abdullah watched Pari and Uncle Nabi pass by the old beggar with the
clubfeet. The old man said something to Pari, Pari turned her face up to Uncle
Nabi and said something, and Uncle Nabi tossed the old man a coin.
Abdullah began to cry soundlessly.

“Oh, you sweet boy,” Mrs. Wahdati said, startled. “You poor darling.” She
fetched a handkerchief from her purse and offered it.
Abdullah swiped it away. “Please don’t do it,” he said, his voice cracking.
She hunkered down beside him now, her glasses pushed up on her hair. There
was wetness in her eyes too, and when she dabbed at them with the
handkerchief, it came away with black smudges. “I don’t blame you if you hate
me. It’s your right. But—and I don’t expect you to understand, not now—this is
for the best. It really is, Abdullah. It’s for the best. One day you’ll see.”

Abdullah turned his face up to the sky and wailed just as Pari came skipping
back to him, her eyes dripping with gratitude, her face shining with happiness.