“I don’t think you’ll be safe here for long,” Farid said. He lowered his voice. “The Taliban have friends here. They will start looking for you.” “I think they already may have,” I murmured. I thought suddenly of the bearded man who’d wandered into the room and just stood there staring at me. Farid leaned in. “As soon as you can walk, I’ll take you to Islamabad. Not entirely safe there either, no place in Pakistan is, but it’s better than here. At least it will buy you some time.”“Farid Jan, this can’t be safe for you either. Maybe you shouldn’t be seen with me. You have a family to take care of.”
Farid made a waving gesture. “My boys are young, but they are very shrewd. They know how to take care of their mothers and sisters.” He smiled. “Besides, I didn’t say I’d do it for free.”“I wouldn’t let you if you offered,” I said. I forgot I couldn’t smile and tried. A tiny streak of blood trickled down my chin. “Can I ask you for one more favor?”“For you a thousand times over,” Farid said.And, just like that, I was crying. I hitched gusts of air, tears gushing down my cheeks, stinging the raw flesh of my lips.“What’s the matter?” Farid said, alarmed.I buried my face in one hand and held up the other. I knew the whole room was watching me. After, I felt tired, hollow. “I’m sorry,” I said. Sohrab was looking at me with a frown creasing his brow.When I could talk again, I told Farid what I needed. “Rahim Khan said they live here in Peshawar.”
“Maybe you should write down their names,” Farid said, eyeing me cautiously, as if wondering what might set me off next. I scribbled their names on a scrap of paper towel. “John and Betty Caldwell.”Farid pocketed the folded piece of paper. “I will look for them as soon as I can,” he said. He turned to Sohrab. “As for you, I’ll pick you up this evening. Don’t tire Amir agha too much.”
But Sohrab had wandered to the window, where a half-dozen pigeons strutted back and forth on the sill, pecking at wood and scraps of old bread.
“我认为你在这里呆得太久不安全。”法里德降低声音说，“塔利班在这里有朋友，他们会开始搜寻你。”“我想他们也许已经来过了。”我喃喃说。我突然想起那个留着胡子的男人，他走进房间，只是站在那儿盯着我。法里德低声说：“一旦你能走动，我会带你去伊斯兰堡[Islamabad，基斯坦首都].那儿也不尽安全，巴基斯坦没有安全的地方，但好过在这里。至少这能为你赢得一些时间。”“亲爱的法里德，这会把你也拖下水的。也许你不应该被他们见到跟我在一起，你有家庭需要照顾。”
法里德摆摆手：“我的儿子是还小，但他们很聪明。他们知道如何保护他们的妈妈和姐妹。”他笑着说，“再说，我又没说替你白干。”“就算你愿意，我也不会答应啊。”我说。我忘了自己无法微笑，想挤出个笑脸，一丝血从下巴流下来。“你能再帮我一个忙吗？”“为你，千千万万遍。”法里德说。就这样，我哭起来。我呼吸急促，泪水从脸上冲下，刺痛嘴唇翻开的肉。“你怎么啦？”法里德紧张地说。我一只手掩着脸，一只手挡在前面。我知道整个房间都在看着我。而后，我觉得很累，很空虚。“对不起，”我说。索拉博露出担忧的神色望着我。我又能说话的时候，跟法里德说我的要求：“拉辛汗说他们住在白沙瓦。”
“也许你应该将他们的名字写下来。”法里德说，慎重地看着我，似乎在想着接下来我又会为什么而崩溃。我在一张纸巾上写下他们的名字：“约翰和贝蒂?卡尔德威。”法里德把纸巾叠好，放进口袋。“我会尽快找到他们。”他说。他转向索拉博：“至于你，我今晚再来接你。别累着阿米尔老爷。”
但索拉博走到窗边，几只鸽子在窗台上来回走动，啄食着木头和面包碎片。