Their next silence lasted longer. Ashraf cleared his throat. ‘I came down to say one thing only.’ Tears were rolling down his cheeks; he paused to wipe them. ‘The day I met your father – the day I told Dukhi to send me his two sons for tailor-training. That day was the luckiest of my life.’ He embraced them, kissed their cheeks three times, and went upstairs.
