Saleem got up from the wall and decided that it was futile to sit here and cry. With a heavy heart he walked back to the restaurant. Mr. Liaqat was standing outside the restaurant and saw Saleem coming back so soon. In the morning he had taken the day off. Now he came back only after a couple of hours. He saw his sad face with swollen eyes, as if he had been crying for a long time.
‘What happened? Saleem, why are you crying?’ he asked.
‘Oh sir, I am not crying,’ but his eyes misted again with unshed
tears.
‘ Saleem I have known you for more than few months, do you want to talk to me about what is bothering you and why are you so miserable.?’
Liaqat asked.
Saleem was so scared he did not know whom to trust. Everyone
had advised him not to take his father’s real name; even Mr. Liaqat said the same.
‘Oh sir, I do not know what to do?’
‘Where did you go today?’ he asked again.
Saleem avoided a direct answer and smiled sadly.
‘I came to Kabul to see a friend, but when I saw the house where
my friend lived, it was burnt to the ground sir, and nobody in that area
could tell me where the occupants of the house were.’
Liaqat could tell that Saleem was only telling half the truth, but
he did not enquire further, and said instead,
‘Saleem, this Sunday you can visit my family, and have food with us; I hope you will be able to make new friends.’
‘Yes sir, thank you sir.’ he went in and washed his face with cold water. When he was felling a little beter he started thinking of going back to Wahab’s village to find out if he had any news of his parents.
He had worked and earned his keep; he was confident that he would not go hungry ever again. He had learned to survive.
He started to plan how to go back. The only way was to go back with Khasta Gul in his truck. he was sure that he will find his way back to the truck stand. As he could only take one holiday a month , he waited for his next day off. The next month he walked to the truck-stop where Khasta Gul had dropped him few months before. He was more confident now and reached there without difficulty. He started looking for Khasta Gul.
The Afghans 