Chapter 16
LaylaTehran
February 2001
The days passed, then weeks. Tehran was deep in winter,
the streets and rooftops and gardens covered with snow. The sun set early
and the nights were long.
I stayed at home, sunk down into myself. Roxana was gone
and England was a dream. I let Azad, my students and my friends drift until
they were no more real than a story. I was like the city: buried,
frozen.
A child was growing inside me. I did not tell him. I did
not tell anyone. At night I gazed at the dark skies and my mind circled like
the stars. There were times when I thought I should forgive him, moments
when I ached so desperately that I would have done anything to forget what
had happened and go to him. But then the ache would fade and leave me with
the ghost of his deceit. His
