Laila thought for a moment.
“Blue thread.”
“For the embroidery?”
“Yes.”
“Which blue?”
She laughed.
“The same one I showed you yesterday.”
“You showed me five blues.”
“They weren’t the same.”
“To me they were.”
Soraya handed him a small piece of paper.
“Take this to the pharmacy too.”
Farid read it.
“Grandmother’s tablets?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll go after school.”
Soraya nodded.
Farid opened the courtyard gate.
Their cat, Mishi, had been sitting beside a bucket in the sun.
The instant the gate opened, she shot between Farid’s legs.
“Mishi!”
Laila dropped the folded shirt.
The cat ran into the alley.
Farid laughed.
“She’ll come back.”
“She was sick last week.”
“She always comes back.”
But Laila was already moving.
She reached the gate.
Stopped.
She was wearing a long house dress.
Her hair was uncovered.
The alley was less than five metres away.
Mishi sat beside a drain, licking one paw.
“Come here.”
The cat looked at her.
Laila crouched behind the half-open gate.
“Mishi.”
The cat walked farther away.
Farid stepped into the street.
“I’ll get her.”
“You’ll miss your bus.”
“So?”
“So go.”
Farid looked at his sister.
Then at the cat.
Then back at her.
For both of them, the absurdity was so ordinary they did not discuss it.
Farid could simply walk into the street.
Laila could not.
Soraya appeared behind her carrying a black outer garment.
“Put this on.”
“Mama, she’s right there.”
“Put it on.”
“It will take longer than catching her.”
“Laila.”
Her mother’s voice changed.
That was enough.
Laila took the garment.
She covered herself.
Adjusted the fabric.
Then covered her hair and face as her mother insisted whenever she went outside.
By the time she opened the gate, Mishi had disappeared around the corner.
Farid sighed.
“I’ll find her.”
“No. Go to school.”
“But—”
“Go.”
Laila stepped outside.
The cold air touched the small exposed area around her eyes.
She had walked perhaps twenty metres when she saw Mishi under a parked car.
“Come on.”
She crouched.
The cat moved deeper beneath it.
A shopkeeper across the road watched without interest.
Two boys passed carrying bread.
Nobody cared about the cat.
Then Laila heard a man’s voice behind her.
“Sister.”
She froze.
Two men were walking along the lane.
One wore the clothing associated locally with the morality authorities.
The other carried a notebook.
Laila stood.
“Where are you going?”
“Home.”
“Where is your mahram?”
She looked toward her house.
“Inside.”
“You are outside.”
“My cat ran away.”
The man looked beneath the car.
Mishi’s yellow eyes reflected from the shadow.
For a moment nobody said anything.
Then the second man smiled faintly.
“You came outside for a cat?”
Laila felt heat rise beneath the fabric covering her face.
“She was sick.”
The first man looked at her clothing.
“Your covering is loose.”
Laila immediately pulled the fabric closer.
“I’m going home.”
“You should know the rules.”
“I do.”
“Then follow them.”
The shopkeeper across the road lowered his eyes.
Farid had not yet reached the end of the street.
He heard the voices and turned back.
“My sister is with me.”
The man looked at him.
“You were walking away.”
“I was getting her cat.”
Laila whispered:
“Farid, go.”
