WE LEFT LATE THAT AFTERNOON, tired from the heat, but tired in a pleasant way. All the way back, I felt Sohrab watching me. I had the driver pull over at a store that sold calling cards. I gave him the money and a tip for running in and buying me one.
That night, we were lying on our beds, watching a talk show on TV. Two clerics with pepper gray long beards and white turbans were taking calls from the faithful all over the world. One caller from Finland, a guy named Ayub, asked if his teenaged son could go to hell for wearing his baggy pants so low the seam of his underwear showed.
“I saw a picture of San Francisco once,” Sohrab said.
“Really?”
“There was a red bridge and a building with a pointy top.”
“You should see the streets,” I said.
“What about them?” He was looking at me now. On the TV screen, the two mullahs were consulting each other.
“They’re so steep, when you drive up all you see is the hood of your car and the sky,” I said.
“It sounds scary,” he said. He rolled to his side, facing me, his back to the TV.
“It is the first few times,” I said. “But you get used to it.”
“Does it snow there?”
“No, but we get a lot of fog. You know that red bridge you saw?”
“Yes.”
“Sometimes the fog is so thick in the morning, all you see is the tip of the two towers poking through.”There was wonder in his smile. “Oh.”
“Sohrab?”
“Yes.”
“Have you given any thought to what I asked you before?”
His smiled faded. He rolled to his back. Laced his hands under his head. The mullahs decided that Ayub’s son would go to hell after all for wearing his pants the way he did. They claimed it was in the Haddith. “I’ve thought about it,” Sohrab said.
“And?”
我们快傍晚的时候才离开，天气很热，让人疲累，不过疲累得开心。回去的路上，我觉得索拉博一直在观察我。我让司机在某间出售电话卡的商店门口停车。我给他钱还有小费，让他帮我去买电话卡。
那天晚上，我们躺在床上，看着电视上的谈话节目。两个教士胡子花白，穿着白袍，接听世界各地信徒打来的电话。有人从芬兰打来，那家伙叫艾优博，问他十来岁的儿子会不会下地狱，因为他穿的裤子宽大耷拉，低得露出内裤的橡皮筋勒带。
“我见过一幅旧金山的照片。”索拉博说。
“真的？”
“那儿有座红色的大桥，和一座屋顶尖尖的建筑。”
“你应该看看那些街道。”我说。
“它们是什么样的？”他现在看着我。电视上，两个毛拉正在交换意见。
“它们很陡，当你开车上坡的时候，你只能见到前面的车顶和天空。”
“听起来真吓人。”他说。他翻过身，脸朝着我，背对着电视。
“刚开始有点吓人，”我说， “不过你会习惯的。”
“那儿下雪吗？”
“不，不过有很多雾。你知道那座你看过的红色大桥吧？”
“是的。”
“有时候，早晨的雾很浓，你只能看到两座尖耸的塔顶。”他惊奇地微笑着：“哦。”
“索拉博？”
“怎么？”
“你有考虑过我之前问你的问题吗？”
他的笑容不见了，翻身仰面躺着，十指交叉，放在脑后。毛拉确定了，艾优博的儿子那样穿着裤子是会下地狱的。他们说《圣训》里面有提及。“我想过了。”索拉博说。
“怎么样？”