The Breadwinner by Deborah Ellis Page B

that my name is Kaseem, because I’m pretending to be a boy. I’m dressed like
     a boy so that I can earn some money, but I’m really a girl. So now you know my
     secret.”
    The woman said nothing. Parvana glanced out the door.
     It was getting late. If she was going to be home before curfew, she’d have to
     leave now.
    â€œCome with me,” Parvana said. “My mother is away, but
     Mrs. Weera is at home. She can fix any problem.” She struck another match and held
     it up to the woman’s face. It suddenly dawned on her that she could see the
     woman’s face. It wasn’t covered up.
    â€œWhere is your burqa?” She looked around but couldn’t
     see one. “Are you outside without a burqa?”
    The woman nodded.
    â€œWhat are you doing outside without a burqa? You could get in a lot
     of trouble for that.”
    The woman just shook her head.
    Parvana had an idea. “Here’s what we’ll do. I’ll
     go home and borrow Mrs. Weera’s burqa and bring it back to you. Then we’ll
     go back to my place together. All right?”
    Parvana started to stand up, but the woman grabbed onto her arm.
    Again Parvana looked out the door at the coming night. “I have to
     let Mrs. Weera knowwhere I am. She’s fine with me being out
     during the day, but if I’m not back at night, she’ll be worried.”
     Still the woman did not let go.
    Parvana didn’t know what to do. She couldn’t stay in the
     building all night, but this frightened woman clearly did not want to be left alone.
     Groping in the dark for her tray, she found two little bags of dried fruit and nuts.
    â€œHere,” she said, handing one to the woman. “We’ll
     think better if we eat.”
    The woman downed the fruit and nuts in almost one swallow. “You must
     be starving,” Parvana said, passing her another bag.
    Parvana chewed and thought and finally decided what to do. “This is
     the best suggestion I have,” she said. “If you have a better idea, let me
     know. Otherwise, this is what we’ll do. We’ll wait until it gets very, very
     dark. Then we’ll head back to my place together. Do you have a chador?”
    The woman shook her head. Parvana wished she had her pattu, but it was
     summer, so she had left it at home.
    â€œDo you agree?” Parvana asked.
    The woman nodded.
    â€œGood. I think we should move close to thedoor. That way, when it’s time, we can see our way out to the street without
     lighting a match. I don’t want to draw any attention to us.”
    With a bit of gentle pulling, Parvana got the woman to her feet. Carefully
     they made their way to a spot just inside the door, but still hidden from the view of
     anyone passing by. They waited in silence for night to fall.
    Kabul was a dark city at night. It had been under curfew for more than
     twenty years. Many of the street lights had been knocked out by bombs, and many of those
     still standing did not work.
    â€œKabul was the hot spot of central Asia,” Parvana’s
     mother and father used to say. “We used to walk down the streets at midnight,
     eating ice cream. Earlier in the evening, we would browse through book shops and record
     stores. It was a city of lights, progress and excitement.”
    Parvana could not even imagine what it had looked like then.
    Before long it was as dark as it would get. “Stay right with
     me,” Parvana said, although she needn’t have bothered. The woman was
     gripping her hand tightly. “It’s not far, but Idon’t know how long it will take us tonight. Don’t worry.” She
     smiled, pretending to be brave. She knew it was too dark in the doorway for the woman to
     see her smile, but it made Parvana feel better.
    â€œI’m Malali, leading the troops through enemy
     territory,” she murmured to herself. That helped, too, although it was hard to
     feel like