Page 35 - THE BOOK 11 12 2020 8 pm FINAL_Neat
P. 35
She is gone, Ganwar,
Kek replies in a sad voice.
She died when the rest of our family got attacked in the village.
But she’s alive! I exclaim.
She’s here. Living in America with us!
Kek shakes his head.
No, Ganwar, we’re lucky that they got you over here, he says.
I’ve been here for a year with Kek,
Kek’s mother pipes in,
to answer my second question.
I’m leaving now, says Kek,
and he turns off the TV.
Where are you going? asks his mother.
Out with friends, he replies.
Be home by eight, she calls.
Sure, Kek says, and shuts the door.
When the door closes,
it turns into night,
and Kek is sleeping on the couch above me.
I get up and tap his shoulder
to wake him up.
Kek, I whisper, wake up.
What is it? he asks.
What’s going on here, Kek? I ask.
He looks at me with a puzzled look.
Where’s my mother, and how did yours get here?
Me and my mother got here by plane a year ago,
and your mother isn’t here.
She never will be.
She was lost when the village was attacked.
But she’s here! I exclaim.
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