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Authors: Howard Faber

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BOOK: A Far Away Home
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Now, Ali was ready to go to the big city. He and his dad would be going on a truck
to Kabul. The morning they left was a cool summer day, when the road was free of
winter snow. They said their goodbyes to mom and Shireen. Shireen wanted to leave,
too, but that would cost more, so she didn't get to go. She did put in her order
for some candy. They climbed up into the back of the truck. The driver started the
engine and they were off on an adventure. They were sitting on bags of wheat, along
with a dozen or so other travelers.
After about an hour, they went past Bondi-Amir,
a series of large deep, clear blue lakes, formed by natural mineral deposit dams,
like steps. When they stopped, Ali found out that the lakes were also cold.

Bamiyan Buddha • UNO Picture

Another couple of hours and they arrived at the provincial capital, Bamiyan. They
stopped for tea and nawn. This was also the first time Ali had seen the two giant
Buddhas carved into the side of the canyon overlooking Bamiyan.

His dad said you could climb out on the head of the biggest one. Ali planned to do
just that when he was bigger and when his leg was straight.

After Bamiyan, the road got steeper. The truck growled in lower gears up the winding
road. Sometimes the curves were too sharp, and the truck had to go ahead into the
curve as far as it could, then back up to the edge of the cliff, repeating this
several
times until it could make it around the curve. When they backed up, the driver depended
on his assistant, the cleanar, to keep them from backing off the cliff by shoving
a big wooden wedge on a long handle (sort of like a shovel) under the back wheel.
Then he would change from reverse to low gear and go ahead again. When they made
it around the corner, the cleanar would jump up and hang on the back until the next
turn. This was all pretty scary to Ali, who could see off the back of the truck over
the cliff, and could just imagine going off the cliff and crashing down onto the
rocks. He just hoped the driver and cleanar knew what they were doing. His dad told
him he had ridden on this truck before, and the driver was a good one and knew just
what to do.

When they got over the Sheebar Pass and started going downhill, the truck growled
less, and it seemed to Ali that everyone was less afraid and talking more. He wasn't
ready to talk to strangers, but he noticed that his dad did, and he listened in.
The men talked about Kabul and all the great things of the big city. When they talked
about movies, Ali hoped he could see one. When they talked about buzkashi, the great
horseback game of the Afghans, he hoped he could
see that, too. He tried to stay
awake to hear more.

They stopped at a small teahouse along the road. It was just like the teahouses in
Sharidure, and they had tea and bread. The long trip continued into the evening.
When they got to the blacktop road, the traffic got heavier, even including some
cars. The cleanar started singing louder, and everyone seemed excited. One more stop
for some grapes and then on to Kabul. It wasn't hard to see it in the distance, with
all of the lights.

They climbed down from the truck at a busy bus and truck stop. It seemed like there
were a million, billion people, people with turbans, people with karakul hats, people
with no hats, people with beards that wound up around their ears, people with long
mustaches, so many people. Someone was calling his dad's name. “It must be dad's
cousin,” thought Ali.

“Peace be with you. Welcome to Kabul.” Dad and his cousin hugged each other, smiling.

“Ali, this is my cousin, Fareed. Fareed this is my son, Ali.”

“Peace be with you. It's very nice to meet you.” Ali knew just how to be polite when
meeting adults. Fareed smiled at Ali and hugged him.

“Ali, you must be tired. We have a nice meal and a soft bed for you tonight.” Ali
thought dad's cousin was going to be someone he could like a lot.

***

In the morning, Ali, his dad, and his dad's cousin Fareed got ready to go to the
hospital. They took a crowded bus, and Ali laughed at the people hanging on to the
bar next to the door. They were hanging outside of the door, because there was no
room in the bus. He laughed, but really he was nervous about seeing a doctor because
he had never seen one before. There weren't any doctors in Sharidure. He hoped and
hoped
the doctor would say he could make his leg better, but he worried that it couldn't
be healed. Mostly, he was silent, just looking at all the people.

Kabul 1965 – Howard Faber

They got out of the bus near the hospital. It was huge, three stories high. There
was a line of people waiting outside, so they got in the line. Hassan asked Fareed
how much it might cost, but he didn't know.

After about an hour of waiting, it was their turn and they went inside. A nurse greeted
them and asked why they were there. Ali's dad explained about Ali's leg and said
they hoped a doctor could make it better. The nurse led them to a smaller room, where
Fareed and Hassan talked quietly. Ali just waited and hoped some more. The doctor
came in, greeted them, and asked Ali to stand. He complimented Ali on the smooth
wooden crutch. He pushed up Ali's pant leg and felt gently around his knee. He bent
Ali's leg carefully and straightened it out as far as he could, then wrote something
on a small piece of paper.

“Ali, your good leg is strong, and I can tell you get around really well. I think
I know what is wrong with your left leg, but I am not able to fix it. There might
be doctors
somewhere who could make it better, but we don't have any in Afghanistan.
I could try, but I'm afraid it would be worse. I'm so sorry. You are a brave boy.”
The doctor shook Ali's dad's hand and left the room. There was silence for a while.
They walked slowly back outside. Ali was very sad. He cried. His dad tried to console
him.

***

Back in Sharidure, Shireen and her mom worked and talked and talked and worked. Her
mom was showing Shireen how to make a felt vest. Shireen was making it for a present
to Ali. This was a lot of work. She started with just wool, washed it, rolled it
into felt, then cut it, sewed the edges, and decorated it with brightly colored cloth
cut into shapes that matched on both sides in the front and on the back. They talked
about how Ali would be able to stand without the crutch, walk and even run.

When Hassan and Ali got back home they climbed down from the back of the truck and
started towards their house. They hadn't told any other people why they really had
gone to Kabul. They just said they were visiting family. When they came through the
door, Shireen saw Ali's leg still bent and
thought hard what to say. What she said
was, “Ali, we're so glad you're home. Look what I made.”

Her mom exchanged glances with her husband and looked carefully at her sad faced
little Ali. “Ali, you look so tall these days. You know what I found in the shops
yesterday? Some lemons. I was waiting for you both to make some lemonade. Hassan,
you must be tired, too. Let's hear all about Kabul, your cousin, and his family.”

“Mom, the doctor said he couldn't help me. What should I do?”

“You should do just what you've been doing. Keep on getting bigger, smarter, and
wiser.” Ali smiled for the first time in a long time. He was glad to be home.

Chapter Two

Doctors Come to Sharidure

Shireen came running in. “Mom, did you hear? There's going to be a doctor in Sharidure.
All of the girls are talking about it. We asked the teacher, and she said she heard
it, too. Have you heard anything about it?”

“Yes, I heard there will be a hospital and medicine, too. Someone said they saw a
foreigner yesterday, well two of them, a man and a woman. They were talking to the
sub-governor and looking at some land near the government office. They were speaking
Farsi, so people could understand what they were saying.”

Shireen and her mom both stopped and looked at each other, both without saying anything,
thinking about Ali.

That's when Ali came thumping in, happy and singing. “Ali, did I see you up on top
of the wall?” It was his mother
asking and warning in the same sentence.

“Well, you might have. I can run along the top without any trouble. I can keep up
with everyone.” Ali was proud of his latest trick.

The word was out. There was to be a hospital, and two doctors were going to come
to Sharidure this summer. There had never been a doctor. You had to travel about
four hours by truck or bus to Bamiyan. Shireen and her mother did not mention it
to Ali so he wouldn't get his hopes up. Ali didn't say anything to them, either,
but he also knew about the doctors and the hospital before they did. When he heard
about it, his heart raced. He did have hopes that this doctor might be able to help
his leg, but he didn't want to get his hopes too high. His life was ok, not bad.
He could do pretty much everything, and by now, nobody even mentioned his leg. It
was just part of life, but deep inside, he hoped and hoped and hoped.

***

Ali and Shireen were on the edge of town, sitting, talking, looking out from the
high ledge that overlooked the river valley below. It was a good place for seeing
a long way.
It was necessary to climb the hill to get there, but it was a good thing
to do on a Thursday afternoon, with no school tomorrow, the weather warm, and a cool
breeze from the higher mountains to make it not too hot.

That's when they first heard the buzzing sound, coming from the east, down the valley.
They couldn't see anything at first, but they eventually could make out something
in the sky. It wasn't as high as planes they sometimes saw, and it didn't sound like
they thought a plane might sound, but, sure enough, it was a plane. It came gradually
closer, then faster as it got closer. It seemed to be looking the area over, circling
around Sharidure. It was far enough away that they couldn't see if anyone was in
it, but there must be a pilot. Ali stood up, waving at the plane as it flew their
way. It came really close this time, flying over the valley, and since they were
up high on the hill overlooking the valley, it was almost at their level. He waved
harder, shouting at the plane to look at him. The plane flew out over the valley
again, then came almost right at them. “He sees us, he sees us!” shouted Ali. The
red and white little plane flew right over their heads, over the hill, and circled
back again over the valley. As it flew
over them again, the plane waved at them,
dipping its wings side to side.

“It did see us. It waved at us.” Shireen seemed surprised and not sure, but still
sure that it had indeed seen them and waved back at Ali. “Ali, it waved, I'm sure
it did. I wonder why a plane would be looking at Sharidure?”

“It was flying really low. I saw the pilot through his window and he seemed to be
looking for a place to land. I wonder if he needed to land. Where could he land?
He could land on this hill because it's pretty long. I wonder how big of a place
he needs. His plane isn't too big. Shireen, did you know I want to be a pilot? I
always have, but now I really want to be a pilot. I want to fly like a bird and go
to far away places. No one will know one of my legs is bent. It won't make any difference
when I am flying.”

“Well, when you are a pilot, I want to go with you to those far away places. Our
teacher told us about the pyramids of the kings of Egypt, and there were pictures
in our book of those pyramids. She also told us about a tower in Paris in France
and how you could go in a lift all the way to the top. There was a picture of that,
too.”

“First you have to see the Buddhas in Bamiyan and the tall buildings in Kabul. We
can go there by bus. I don't think you can go on a truck, but let's go find out about
the plane. Maybe someone will know. Maybe dad or mom will know. Come on.” Shireen
and Ali ran down to town. Their world had just gotten bigger.

BOOK: A Far Away Home
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