A Thousand Splendid Suns
Mariam was five years old when she first heard that she was illegitimate. Though, she could not understand what the term means but she definitely understood that Nana, her mother was cursing her. It happened on a Thursday when Mariam finger’s slipped and broke the blue-and-white porcelain tea set, the sole relic of Nana’s mother. It was the day when Jalil Khan had to visit Kolba to meet Mariam. Jalil never called Mariam this name. She was always his little flower and she also loves the stories of Queen Gauhar Shad, wheat field of Herat, the orchards, the city’s crowded markets. Nana always told her that she was not welcomed at Jalil Khan’s home. Even on the day when she gave birth to Mariam, no one came to help. Jalil didn’t even bother to summon a doctor. It was for two days when she was laid on cold floor without food and sleep. But Mariam had always believed on Jalil’s version that he had arranged for Nana a good doctor in a hospital and the affair was all over ...