追风筝的人阿塞夫结局 残忍而美丽的情谊:The Kite Runner 追风筝的人(74)

残忍而美丽的情谊:The Kite Runner 追风筝的人(74)  

TOOR’S BAD LUCK. Hadn’t I overheard that in a snippet of conversation back at Mahipar?
We rolled into Jalalabad about an hour before sunrise. Karim ushered us quickly from the truck into a one-story house at the intersection of o dirt roads lined with flat one-story homes
acacia trees
and closed shops. I pulled the collar of my coat against the chill as we hurried into the house
dragging our belongings. For some reason
I remember smelling radishes.
Once he had us inside the dimly lit
bare living room
Karim locked the front door
pulled the tattered sheets that passed for curtains. Then he took a deep breath and gave us the bad news: His brother Toor couldn’t take us to Peshawar. It seemed his truck’s engine had blown the week before and Toor was still waiting for parts.
“Last week?” someone exclaimed. “If you knew this
why did you bring us here?”
I caught a flurry of movement out of the corner of my eye. Then a blur of something zipping across the room
and the next thing I saw was Karim slammed against the wall
his sandaled feet dangling o feet above the floor. Wrapped around his neck were Baba’s hands.
“I’ll tell you why
” Baba snapped. “Because he got paid for his leg of the trip. That’s all he cared about.” Karim was making guttural choking sounds. Spittle dripped from the corner of his mouth.
“Put him down
Agha
you’re killing him
” one of the passengers said.
“It’s what I intend to do
” Baba said. What none of the others in the room knew was that Baba wasn’t joking. Karim was turning red and kicking his legs. Baba kept choking him until the young mother
the one the Russian officer had fancied
begged him to stop.
Karim collapsed on the floor and rolled around fighting for air when Baba finally let go. The room fell silent. Less than o hours ago
Baba had volunteered to take a bullet for the honor of a woman he didn’t even know. Now he’d almost choked a man to death
would have done it cheerfully if not for the pleas of that same woman.
Something thumped next door. No
not next door
below.
“What’s that?” someone asked.
“The others
” Karim panted beeen labored breaths. “In the basement.”
“How long have they been waiting?” Baba said
standing over Karim.
“Two weeks.”