Mariam From Kolba

697 Words2 Pages

The story begins in a kolba (small cottage) outside of Herat, Afghanistan, in the early 1960s. Mariam is a young girl that lives with her mom Nana. Meanwhile her father Jalil a rich business man, that lives in Herat with his three wives and kids, visits her once a week. Mariam is Jalil’s only bastard child. Her only wish is to live with Jalil and her half-siblings. For her birthday Jalil promised to take her to the movies he owns, but ironically he doesn’t show up that day. Even after being warned by her mother to not go, Mariam heads to Herat in hopes of finding her father’s house. After finding the house, Jalil’s driver stops Mariam from entering the house claiming that her father is outside. Stubborn Mariam waits outside until the …show more content…

Her ambitions are more than getting married and having children at a young age. Her father Hakim always enlightens her on the importance of education. Hakim was a teacher until the Soviet fired him, now he works in a factory. Laila’s best friend and later her love interest, is a one-legged boy that is few years older than her called Tariq. She visits him and his family regularly. Even though Laila was informed by her father on the tension between the different tribes, Tariq’s family treat Laila as if she’s part of the family. That same night, a stranger knocks on the door and tells the family that Ahmed and Noor have died. The next day, Laila’s house is filled with women trying to calm Fariba. The men sit in a hall, while the women gather at home. Even though it hurts Laila to see her mom upset, she could not feel sad and sorrow for the loss of her siblings. After the funeral, Fariba’s emotional and physical state got worse, even though she did not have an evident physical illness. Therefore, Laila does all the chores for her mother but she doesn’t notice her efforts. Laila fears her that her mother would commit suicide. Fariba assures her that she will not do it, and that she wants to see the

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