Page 191 - And the Mountains Echoed (novel)

would then push the wheelbarrow to the bricklayers and trot back to start a new

batch. He opened his palms and showed Adel his blisters.
“Wow,” Adel said—stupidly, he knew, but he couldn’t think of another reply.
The closest he had ever come to manual labor was one afternoon three years ago
when he’d helped the gardener plant a few apple saplings in the backyard of
their house in Kabul.
“Got you a surprise,” Gholam said. He reached into the bag and tossed Adel
the Zidane jersey.
“I don’t understand,” Adel said, surprised and cautiously thrilled.

“I see some kid in town the other day wearing it,” Gholam said, asking for the
ball with his fingers. Adel kicked it to him and Gholam juggled as he told the
story. “Can you believe it? I go up to him and say, ‘Hey that’s my buddy’s shirt
on you.’ He gives me a look. To make a long story short, we settle it in an alley.
By the end, he’s begging me to take the shirt!” He caught the ball midair, spat,
and grinned at Adel. “All right, so maybe I’d sold it to him a couple of days
earlier.”
“That’s not right. If you sold it, it was his.”

“What, you don’t want it now? After everything I went through to get it back
for you? It wasn’t all one-sided, you know. He landed a few decent punches.”
“Still …” Adel muttered.
“Besides, I tricked you in the first place and I felt bad about it. Now you get
your shirt back. And as for me …” He pointed to his feet, and Adel saw a new
pair of blue-and-white sneakers.

“Is he all right, the other guy?” Adel asked.
“He’ll live. Now, are we going to debate or are we going to play?”
“Is your father with you?”
“Not today. He’s at the courthouse in Kabul. Come on, let’s go.”

They played for a while, kicking the ball back and forth, chasing it around.
They went for a walk later, Adel breaking his promise to the guard and leading
them into the orchards. They ate loquats off the trees and drank cold Fanta from
cans Adel covertly fetched from the kitchen.
Soon, they began to meet this way almost daily. They played ball, chased
each other through the orchards’ parallel rows of trees. They chatted about sports
and movies, and when they had nothing to say they looked out on the town of
Shadbagh-e-Nau, the soft hillsides in the distance and the hazy chain of
mountains farther yet, and that was all right too.

Every day now Adel woke up eager for the sight of Gholam sneaking up the