Summary: Laila could not function any longer, she could not talk or concentrate anymore. One day Laila and Tariq were in the living room, and Tariq told Laila that he was leaving. His family had decided to leave Afghanistan. Laila was crying and she was furious with him. She hit him and pulled his hair, and when she did this he pulled her into a tight hug that made her feel safe and okay. Suddenly they kissed. In the following days Laila would try her best to remember every moment of what had happen that afternoon. They really did that, they had sex. After it was over, they hurriedly dressed and sat there. There was blood on the carpet, Laila’s blood. Tariq asks Laila to leave with him, he wants them to leave together and be married, but all Laila could think of was leaving Mammy and Babi. She could not leave them alone. Laila says no to Tariq, leaving would crush her parents. Tariq tells her that he loves her, but she tells him how she could not leave her father. He understands and tells her that he will come back for her.
It was one of the hottest days of the year, and the power had been out for days. Laila sat on the couch, sweating through her blouse. Laila was listening to her parents talking, they talked every day since the bullet came through the front gate. Inside Laila she was having a battle of her own. She was not sure if what she did was sinful or not. It had been natural and good, but she knew that they might never see each other again. Laila was already forgetting exactly what had happen. With the passing time, she would forget more and more. Every once in a while she would remember exactly what happen and it would steal her breath. But then it would be gone. All of a sudden Babi yells down the stairs that Mammy has agreed to leave Kabul and get away from the terror. Days earlier a bullet had been shot towards Laila and had just missed her head, this is what changed Mammy’s mind. She had already lost two children and did not want to lose her third child. Laila could not sleep she was too excited. She pictured them walking on a beach, sitting on a quilt. Her and Tariq sitting with a blanket over their shoulders. The next day they start packing. He said they should bring as little as possible, they sold many things and only kept a few. Babi had the most painful task, he had to get rid of all his books. All of a sudden Laila sees a flash of white light and she went flying into the air. A bomb had hit. She blacked out, and when she opens her eyes there was a man looking over her, he gives her a pink pill and she passes out again. Now she sees a woman, all Laila can hear is ringing and she just thinks where Tariq is. She falls asleep again, and sees her and Babi, somewhere up high. He is pointing to a field, and then she is up again. She takes another pink pill and she falls asleep again.
Analysis: When Laila found out that Tariq was leaving, this crushed her. She could not believe that he was actually leaving for good. It was not what they had planned. They do something that changes the rest of Laila’s life. She tried so hard to remember every detail of what had happen that day. She would try to remember this day for the rest of her life. Tariq asked Laila to leave with him, but all the thoughts going through her head about what would happen to her mother and father made her decide that she had to stay, and this decision effects the rest of her life.
When Laila heard her parents talk, she was not quite sure what they talked about, but she knew it could not be good. She was almost killed and they knew that there was a bigger chance everyday that they would be killed. Laila hated that she could not remember what exactly had happen with her and Tariq. She wanted to always remember that. When Laila finds out that they are leaving, she is overwhelmed. She plans to go find Tariq and make sure she never leaves him again. They started packing and it was so hard to get rid of everything that was important to her, but Babi had it the hardest. He had to get rid of all his precious books. This hurt him so much, and now Laila could not learn from them anymore. As they pack a bomb hit, and changes everything Laila had planed for. No more leaving Kabul, no more seeing Tariq. She will be lucky if she survives. When she wakes up there is a man and a woman, and they keep giving her pills. She does not understand what is going on, so she just tries to sleep.
