Chapter 26
February 1061 (year 453 from Hegira, month of Muḥarram), palace of Mohammed ibn al-Thumna
In an attempt to remove Amir's courtship from himself, Nadira had spoken of the difference between a saltwater basin and the sea. With that example, she intended to emphasize how happiness cannot exist in tasting something, but it can only be achieved in complete fulfillment. Moreover, she argued the matter saying that a single taste creates even more unhappiness because one realizes what can no longer be recovered. Nadira spoke of freedom, but Amir spoke of love.
That day on the veranda overlooking the cliff, Nadira saw the sea for the first time and now the color of her eyes where similar to that infinite element made of water. Perhaps, she reasoned, freedom already existed in her, and
