the sound that had wakened her Samira turned to call for Papa but suddenly a hand gripped her around the ankle She looked down and saw her father crouched beside her He let go of her ankle and pulled her down and put his hand over her mouth He leaned close and whispered so softly that she could hardly hear him Be quiet They must not know you saw them Samira tried to open her mouth to ask a question but Papa held his hand firm and whispered again I’ll tell you in the morning Don’t stand up She nodded and he let her go She crawled over to her sleeping mat Papa pulled the quilt up around her and patted her on the shoulder Sleep he said without making a sound Then he moved away on his hands and knees Samira reached for Maryam and pulled her close For a long time she lay with her eyes open listening But it was quiet now and after a while she fell asleep When she woke she was alone She sat up and looked around the roof that covered her house and the connected house where Uncle Avram lived with his family On warm nights both families liked to sleep on the roof out in the fresh air But now the sun was high in the sky Everyone else
would have drunk their tea and eaten their morning bread and cheese Benyamin had probably gone to school and Papa would be out in the garden Suddenly Samira remembered the dark figures stealing melons She scrambled up pulled on her skirt and blouse and climbed quickly down the ladder In the house it was bread-baking day Mama was kneading dough in a big bowl while Maryam played with her doll as she always did while Mama worked But this morning Papa was there too He had a basket in his arms It was empty except for one pale green melon Samira he said I let you sleep because you were disturbed by the men in the garden last night Do you remember anything about them Samira closed her eyes trying to see again the figures in the starlight There were three of them she said They wore stiff jackets and caps that covered their ears They had knives and they were cutting melons She opened her eyes And they had rifles Who were they Papa Uniforms and guns said Papa They were soldiers not ordinary thieves I’ve heard that deserters from the Turkish army have come through the mountains into Persia They don’t want to fight in the war anymore but they don’t mind stealing They were hungry and our melons are just
getting ripe This is the only one they missed What if they come again said Samira We must stay quiet and be watchful I told Benyamin to come straight home after school No one should be wandering around the countryside I’m going out to the garden to pick whatever is ripe or nearly ripe If the soldiers do come back they won’t find much to steal He handed the melon to Samira and left Mama set the bowl of bread dough to one side and said Get some bread and cheese for your breakfast and take Maryam next door to play with Ester and Negris Sahra will come soon to bake bread with me so I’m going to uncover the oven now and build up the fire The oven was a round hole dug into the earthen floor of the house lined with smooth clay and covered with a lid The fire burned at the bottom and most days an iron pot filled with the day’s stew was set to cook down inside the oven with the top almost closed But on bread-baking day the cover was left off It would be too easy for Maryam to stumble and fall in Aunt Sahra and Mama would pat the bread dough into big thin ovals Mama would slap the ovals onto the hot sides of the oven In just a few minutes the bread would be brown and bubbling Aunt Sahra would lift it off with wooden tongs By the end of the baking there would be a
pile of lawash flatbread enough to last both families for a week or more Samira took Maryam out onto the terrace There was an oven out there too and in the summer Mama and Aunt Sahra always baked bread outside But today things were different Maryam tugged at her hand and the two girls walked to the next wooden door and into a house that was almost exactly like theirs There was just one room square with whitewashed walls The only furniture was a big carved chest where sleeping mats and quilts and clothes were stored The floor was covered with beautiful rugs and there were cushions to sit on though the children usually sat on the floor Aunt Sahra was busy tidying up As always she moved and the tea glasses washed she looked at the four girls Ester and Samira I want you to take good care of your little sisters she said If anything strange happens call me at once She didn’t pick up her basket and leave until Ester quickly and talked even faster I want you girls to play in the house today she said There are too many strangers around So Samira knew that she had heard about the soldiers in the garden When all the breakfast crumbs had been brushed away
