Hassan Quotes

‘‘‘I know,’ he said, breaking our embrace. ‘Inshallah, we’ll celebrate later. Right now, I’m going to run that blue kite for you,’ he said. He dropped the spool and took off running, the hem of his green chapan dragging in the snow behind him. ‘Hassan!’ I called. ‘Come back with it!’ He was already turning the street corner, his rubber boots kicking up snow. He stopped, turned. He cupped his hands around his mouth. ‘For you a thousand times over!’ he said. Then he smiled his Hassan smile and disappeared around the corner. The next time I saw him smile unabashedly like that was twenty-six years later, in a faded Polaroid photograph.”

“And that’s the thing about people who mean everything they say. They think everyone else does too.”

“Muslim women should dress traditionally and wear a scarf, even though he always wore western gear.”

“Zainullah’s angry now. Zahra’s withdrawn. She used to be so bright and bubbly. But I think it’s making Hassan get some sense. Everyone gets nightmares.”