“Of course.” How could she not have heard of it? It had been on every- one’s lips for two days.

“Well, it wasn’t an accident. And it wasn’t suicide, either.” “What do you mean?”

Now, it was Laila’s turn to lower her voice. “Someone saw her going into a man’s house in town. Her brothers found out. They threw her down that well. Everyone in the village heard her screams.”

“Laila! How do you know all this?”

“I told you Miss Vanderbeek wasn’t the only one who knows things. Would you like to hear more, little sparrow?”

Amira settled back to listen. Learning from Miss Vanderbeek was fun, but hard. It was nice to have a friend like Laila to talk with about real things in the real world. Someday soon, she would tell Laila about her secret wish—that Laila and Malik would marry, and they would all live together.

6. Friendship

Friendship

It wasn’t just a fantasy. It could easily happen. In many ways, Laila Sibai was an ideal choice to be Malik’s wife. Her father, Abdullah, was Omar Badir’s lifelong friend and his business partner, so the alliance would make sense economically, uniting the two friends’ fortunes.

True, Laila and Malik were not cousins, but the preference for marriage between cousins was less pronounced in al-Remal than in many Arab countries, and in any case, Laila was virtually the same as a cousin, known to everyone, spending almost as much time at the Badir house as at her own. Her mother, Rajiyah, was Jihan’s close friend.

Besides—not that it counted for much in arranging marriages—Laila and Malik liked each other. Amira remembered Rajiyah scolding Laila more than once for playing and talking with Malik more than was seemly with a boy who was not mahram—that is, a male relative she could not marry.

Even after Laila had reached puberty and took the veil, Amira came upon her and Malik laughing in a secluded corner of the Badir garden. Amira must have looked shocked, because Laila smiled and said, “What’s the matter, spar- row? Should your brother and I become strangers just because I’m wrapped in cloth?”

That was just like Laila, who seemed to share Malik’s philosophy about knowing when to break the rules. Even if Amira disapproved—and she was not sure she did—she would never have said so. She idolized Laila. Obviously, one reason the older girl gave her such attention was because of Malik, but what did that matter? Amira idolized Malik, too. From her point of view, the perfect thing would be for her brother and her friend to marry.