Page 326 - The Kite Runner

The Kite Runner 315

“Sorry,” he said curtly. He put his glasses back on. Snapped his
newspaper open. “I have seen no such boy.”
I stood at the counter for a minute, trying not to scream. As I
was exiting the lobby, he said, “Any idea where he might have
wandered to?”
“No,” I said. I felt tired. Tired and scared.
“Does he have any interests?” he said. I saw he had folded the
paper. “My boys, for example, they will do anything for American
action films, especially with that Arnold Whatsanegger—”
“The mosque!” I said. “The big mosque.” I remembered the
way the mosque had jolted Sohrab from his stupor when we’d
driven by it, how he’d leaned out of the window looking at it.
“Shah Faisal?”
“Yes. Can you take me there?”
“Did you know it’s the biggest mosque in the world?” he asked.
“No, but—”
“The courtyard alone can fit forty thousand people.”
“Can you take me there?”
“It’s only a kilometer from here,” he said. But he was already
pushing away from the counter.
“I’ll pay you for the ride,” I said.
He sighed and shook his head. “Wait here.” He disappeared
into the back room, returned wearing another pair of eyeglasses, a
set of keys in hand, and with a short, chubby woman in an orange
sari trailing him. She took his seat behind the counter. “I don’t
take your money,” he said, blowing by me. “I will drive you because
I am a father like you.”

I thought we’d end up driving around the city until
night fell. I saw myself calling the police, describing Sohrab to