Kabul has been hot these past few days but today the sky is cloudy and I’ve opened my window. There’s a beautiful breeze blowing and outside I can hear shouts and the laughter of children gathered under the rain.
In the house my mother has started preparing fabrics for Eid. I can hear the steady hum of her sewing machine though I don’t know what she’s making yet.
I just got up from the family room to write to you and everyone there is busy. One sister was showing her drawing to my father, another who is learning tailoring let us see a shirt she finished making. The other girls are showing Dad how many pages they have read and my brothers are talking about their school books. The last sister showed us a story she has written and there was time for us all to give our thoughts.
I can still hear the sound of their laughter and conversation from that room and my curiosity grows about what they will start discussing next. Days like this, when I spend time with them, pull me away from my lonely corner which is usually filled with restless thoughts and deceptive imaginings. I take refuge in them and, for a moment, can find some peace.