Kabul ’52

Reading And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini. It is autumn 1952 and Abdullah and Pari have arrived in Kabul from their remote village for the first time; they are sitting on a sidewalk bench eating street food.
‘Look, Abdullah,’ Pari said, pointing to a shop across the street. In its window stood a young woman dressed in a beautifully embroidered green dress with small mirrors and beads. She wore a long matching scarf, with silver jewelry and deep red trousers. She stood perfectly still, gazing indifferently at passersby without once blinking. She didn’t so much as move a finger as Abdullah and Pari finished their beans, and remained motionless after that too. P.39