Mud City

Mud City — page 1 — KAZAKHSTAN UZBE KYRGYZSTAN TURKM ENISTAN CHINA TAJIKISTAN Mazar e Sharif Kunduz Jammu Kashmir Kabul aleabad A NIS TAN Perhawar slamabad IRAN Kandahar REGISTAN DESERT KIS TAN VI Gulf of Oman Kans IN DIA OMAN AFGHANISTAN Europe North America Asy Atria South Antarctica

Mud City — page 2 — ONE When did Mrs Weera say she would be back Shauzia had asked that question so many times that the woman in Mrs Weera’s hut didn’t even look up She simply raised an arm and pointed at the door All right I’m going Shauzia said But I’m not going far I’ll sit in the doorway until she comes back But the woman at the makeshift table was absorbed in her work Not only was this the office for the Widows Compound the section of the refugee camp where widows and their children lived It was also the office for a secret women’s organization that operated on the other side of the Pakistan border in Afghanistan The Taliban were still in power there Mrs Weera’s organization ran secret schools clinics and a magazine Shauzia was tempted to jump onto the table and kick the papers onto the dirt floor just to get a reaction Instead she

Mud City — page 3 — went outside and plunked herself down beside the doorway her back slumped against the wall Jasper her dog was taking up most of the sliver of shade by the hut He lifted his head a few inches off the ground in greeting but only for a moment It was too hot to do anything more The streets and walls of the camp were all made of mud which soaked up the heat like a bread oven baking everything inside including Shauzia Flies landed on her face hands and ankles Nearby the resident crazy woman rocked and moaned Remember when we were in the high pasture Shauzia asked Jasper Remember how cool and clean the air felt How we could hear birds singing not women moaning She reached under her chador to lift up her hair which was sticking to the back of her neck Maybe we should have stayed with the shepherds she said brushing off a fly and redraping her head and shoulders with the chador Maybe I should have kept my hair short like a boy’s instead of letting it grow back That was Mrs Weera’s idea Mrs Weera orders me around has dumb ideas and won’t even get me a decent pair of sandals Look at these She took off a sandal and showed it to Jasper who kept his eyes closed The sandal was barely held

Mud City — page 4 — Shauzia put it back on her foot It’s not fair for you to be in this heat either she told Jasper You’re a shepherding dog You should be back in the mountains with the sheep or even better on the deck of a big ship next to me with the ocean wind all around us Shauzia wasn’t completely sure whether there was wind on the ocean but she figured there must be After all there were waves I’m sorry I brought you here Jasper I thought this place would be a stepping stone to some place better instead of a dead end Do you forgive me Jasper opened his eyes perked up his ears for a moment then went back to his nap Shauzia took that as a yes Jasper used to belong to the shepherds but as soon as he together by bits of string and Shauzia met they realized they really belonged together Shauzia leaned back and closed her eyes Maybe she could remember what a cool breeze felt like Maybe that would cool her down Shauzia tell us a story She kept her eyes closed Go away She wasn’t in the mood to entertain the

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