14
The First Day
Zahra woke early the following morning from a fitful sleep. She got out of bed quietly and opened the curtains. In the pale light she could see part of the garden. The house was deeply silent. She leaned her forehead against the cold windowpane. She felt cut adrift as if she was floating in a void, unable to put her feet on the ground. An image of Karim crossed her inner eye and she said his name out loud under her breath and sighed. If only things were different!
Ahmad stirred in his narrow bed and she knelt down next to him. He was sleeping soundly, clutching his Mickey Mouse soft toy. She moved to stroke his hair but stopped—she didn’t want to wake him too early. She showered and dressed and when she came out of the bathroom he was wide awake, seemingly quite happy a
