parents. “When you kill a man, you steal a life,” Baba said. “You steal his wife’s right to a husband, rob his children of a father. When you tell a lie, you steal someone’s right to the truth.

There are a lot of children in Afghanistan, but little childhood.

That was the thing with Hassan. He was so goddamn pure, you always felt like a phony around him.

longhaired men and women we always saw hanging

classical ghazal by Ustad Sarahang.

Ahmad Zahir

that, I believe, is what true redemption is, Amir jan, when guilt leads to good.

That was the thing about kite flying: Your mind drifted with the kite.

When you cheat, you steal the right to fairness. Do you see?”