My Name Is Parvana

My Name Is Parvana — page 7 — Go get it I can’t wait for them to do their fine-tooth comb thing They’ll take as much time as they get Chase it down Bring it back here If they squawk tell them it’s an order Yes sir The girl in the chair saw the woman’s army boots cross the floor and leave the office As the door was opened more noises came in from the outside phones ringing people speaking filing cabinets opening and closing The girl kept her ears open and her eyes on the floor She knew the man at the desk was watching her She did her best to ignore him It was difficult She used an old trick she had used to keep herself going when she was scared in the wilderness She recited multiplication tables to herself Nineteen times seven is one hundred and thirty-three Nineteen times eight is one hundred and fifty-two Nineteen times nine is one hundred and seventy-one She made it all the way through the twenty-eight times table before the woman’s boots entered the office again She heard the sound of someone putting her father’s shoulder bag on the desk This looks like it has seen better days the man said Let’s see what we’ve got in here

My Name Is Parvana — page 8 — keep out That’s just what my own teenaged daughter would have written What language is it Dari But we don’t know that it is her notebook She He named each thing as he took it out of the bag One notebook What does this writing say Sir that says Property of Parvana Everyone else could have been scavenging or Pens the man said And a copy of To Kill a Mockingbird in English What would a girl like this be doing with an American classic But look It’s got pages torn out even looks like someone’s taken bites out of it Why are we even trying to civilize these people He threw it on the desk The girl in the blue chador had a very hard time not jumping out of her chair grabbing the book and hitting the man over the head with it She heard someone flipping through the notebook Who is this girl What is she up to the man asked Maybe she was as you say just scavenging That would fit Her clothes are covered in dust Her feet are filthy She looks as if she has been sleeping outside in the dirt Was there anything else of value in that building To these people everything is of value sir the

My Name Is Parvana — page 9 — woman said But yes there were other things she could have taken A radio Some kitchen things Things she could use in other words Or sell So if she were just a scavenger she would have taken them Instead she takes this ratty old shoulder bag full of useless scraps of paper and one half-eaten book No My instincts are right She was up to something And we are going to get to the bottom of it Lock her up The words caused a jolt of fear to zip through the girl’s body are all full of men There is a problem sir the woman said The cells No women’s cells There hasn’t been a need for them Well there’s a need now This girl isn’t going anywhere desk started up again There was another pause The banging of the pen on the What about the brig the man asked after a while The army brig That’s for soldiers It has cells doesn’t it Are they secure Yes but But what the man asked The cells in the brig are a bit nicer than the ones we

My Name Is Parvana — page 10 — use for the Afghan prisoners The man laughed This is hardly a lucky day for this girl Corporal However nice the cell is it’s still a prison One she may be in for a very long time He picked up the telephone and punched in some numbers The girl in the chair tried to go back to her multiplication tables She needed to stay calm She needed to not let anyone know how afraid she was The man hung up the phone Done Get her settled We can’t get anything from her if she won’t talk Get her to talk to us Keep asking her name Ask it over and over again until she tells it to you just to shut you up That’s all The woman stood up Yes sir She took hold of the girl’s arm and led her out of the office and down the hall Once more they were back in the sunshine The girl was led across a yard past a line of tanks and armored cars past a group of soldiers doing jumping jacks past several large gray metal buildings They went up some steps into another building and walked down a long hallway They stopped in front of a row of gray doors She heard the key turn in the lock The door opened She was given a little nudge and stepped into the cell The door closed behind her She could tell the woman was watching her through the

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