Read Online Saving Kabul Corner by N. H. Senzai - Free Book Online Page B

and Mariam, arguing over who the best contestant was on America’s Next Big Voice .
    â€œLaila,” Mariam called out. “Come on. We need to get started.”
    There was no response, and no Laila.

“W HAT HAPPENED TO HER ?” asked Mariam.
    â€œWho knows,” grumbled Ariana.
    â€œWe need to go look,” said Mariam, getting up from her chair.
    Reluctantly Ariana rose. Laila wasn’t on the first level of the house, so they headed upstairs. It was unusually quiet since the younger boys were next door getting help with long division from Sara Khala . Finally they found Laila in the master bedroom, along with Zainab Khala , Ariana’s mother, and Hava Bibi. Zainab Khala ’s face was streaked with tears, and ­Laila’s eyes were suspiciously wet.
    â€œWhat’s wrong?” asked Ariana.
    â€œWe just got a call from Afghanistan, jaan ,” said Nasreen. “Laila’s father was . . . injured, but alhamdulillah , not seriously.”
    Laila hid her face in a tissue as Mariam went over to sit beside her. Ariana stood rooted to her spot, uncertain what to do.
    â€œDon’t worry, jaan . Your father will be okay,” said Hava Bibi. “He’s safe at the military hospital and will be up and running in no time.”
    â€œYou grandmother is right,” said Nasreen, adjusting her silk blouse that tucked into a slim skirt. “You girls have a lot of schoolwork to do. We will call the hospital tonight, and Laila, you can talk to your father then.”
    Slowly Laila got up, assisted by Mariam, and all three girls returned to the dining room.
    â€œWhat happened?” Ariana blurted out.
    â€œIt was an IED, on the road to Gardez,” said Laila. Her shoulders slumped as she sat down.
    Ariana shuddered. She knew what an IED, an improvised explosive device, was capable of. It was a homemade bomb that not only killed but horribly maimed people.
    â€œOh, no,” whispered Mariam, patting Laila on the back.
    Laila sat in her chair, staring straight ahead, as if she couldn’t quite digest the news. “Gardez is an ancient city located between two important roads that cut through a huge valley,” she rambled, clutching her locket. “It has always been an important spot for plundering armies; even Alexander the Great had posts there when he tried to invade in 330 b.c. ”
    â€œUh, sure,” said Mariam, sharing a confused look with Ariana.
    Ariana shrugged, not quite knowing how to comfort her cousin either.
    â€œGardez is very close to Tora Bora,” said Laila, blinking slowly, as if in a daze. “That’s where Osama bin Laden and Mullah Omar, the leader of the Taliban, escaped to when the Americans went looking for them after 9/11.”
    â€œOh,” said Ariana. She remembered only fragments from 9/11, since she’d been too young to fully understand the terrible day, six years ago. That’s when Bin Laden had attacked America by sending planes crashing into the Twin Towers in New York City and into the Pentagon in Washington, DC. Bin Laden, once a wealthy businessman, had initially come to Afghanistan to help the people fight the Soviets. He’d been a respected figure, even by the American government, which had supplied him with weapons to fight the Soviets.
    â€œMy father and his unit of American soldiers had gone to Gardez with a group of Polish soldiers,” continued Laila, “to investigate a sighting of Taliban forces.”
    Ariana’s stomach clenched. She remembered hearing bits of this story on the news. The realization that it involved her family made it feel very real. She imagined her father being shot, and her hands went cold.
    â€œOne of the Polish soldiers was killed—the first Polish casualty since Poland joined the war in ­Afghanistan,” said Laila, tears glistening in her green eyes.
    Mariam sucked in her breath, going pale.
    â€œMariam, you okay?” said