Pari

“Go back home”, Saboor shouting at Abdull. Saboor and Pari, his daughter, were on their way to Kabul. Abdull was very close to his 3 years old sister. After all, he was the one who was looking after her since their mother passed away a year ago. Their stepmother was busy looking after her kids. Abdull was 10. Saboor started throwing stones at Abdull, but he was dodging it and did not give up. Finally, he convinced his father and joined them on the journey to Kabul. The journey would take 2 days by foot from Shahbagh. They rested near a cave that night and had dinner. Next day early morning they were moving. Nabi, Saboor’s brother-in-law, was waiting for them near the Kabul’s shoe market. He took them to his owner’s house. Saboor married Nabi’s sister after his first wife died due to typhoid.

Mr. and Mrs. Wahdati, owners were having trouble conceiving a child. A few days ago Mrs. Wahdati asked Nabi to take her to Shahbagh. There he introduced her to his sister’s family. Saboor used to work on construction site on daily wages. But the war between the Afghan government and the Mujahideen took away his family’s bread and butter. He was having a difficult time finding a new job. Mrs. Wahdati was enchanted by the cute Pari. Nabi noticed how she was interacting with little Pari.

On the way back Mrs. Wahdati was sobbing in the backseat. Nabi felt bad, he knew the reasons. When they arrived in Kabul, Nabi suggested them to buy Pari, he said he would talk with Saboor. They thought about it and agreed. Saboor was struggling to find employment so he agreed to it. To feed the family he decided to sacrifice Pari. Saboor knew the intensity of the bond between Pari and Abdull, that’s why he was hesitating to take Abdull with him. He knew that Abdull would be alone without Pari. But considering that this would be the last few moments he would be spending with Pari, he agreed to take him to Kabul. 20 years later…

Abdull was blessed with a girl child. How could he not name her Pari? He told the story of selling Pari to his wife and Pari. Pari used to look at other children in her neighborhood who had siblings to play with. So, Pari considered that she has a twin sister Pari, who looked exactly like her. Pari’s sister was present everywhere with her. She was only visible to her. Abdull used to tell her bedtime story and when he left the room thinking she is asleep, she used to put on an extra pillow beside her pillow and go to sleep saying goodbye to her twin sister Pari. Her bond with Pari was out of the world, that no body could understand, not even Abdull.

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This story is extracted from ‘And the mountains echoed’ novel by Khaled Hosseini. Back in 1950’s, due to extreme poverty in Afghanistan, poor families were selling their kids to rich families. Unknowingly kids were sacrificed to feed the remaining family. This was good for the kid’s future, they would grow in better environment, good food, education rather than struggling for daily wages.