The Pearl that Broke Its Shell

by Nadia Hashimi

People who saw her profile from the right would begin to smile, but as their view turned the corner, beyond her nose, their own faces would change.

He tried to work alongside his father as a carpenter but a man who had been taught only to destroy found it hard to create.

But Boba-jan could see in Shahla’s eyes that there was something that puzzled her and he knew just what it was. Why would Amrika be so upset after just one building was attacked? Half our country had crumbled under the Taliban. We were all thinking the same thing. If only Amrika would have been upset about that too.

I kicked my foot, pretending there was a ball in front of me. Was that it? Was I a boy already?