But I did not give it more thought. With the carelessness of children, we continued our quest, followed by the ghosts of kings and concubines, of roosters and soldiers, of all the many pompous creatures who strutted with pride just before their fall.

Chapter 4

A few paces before reaching my father’s office, we slowed to catch our breath and compose ourselves. I stole a glance through the glass door and saw Boba in his usual position—a pen pinched between his fingers, poised as if to strike the page before him. He didn’t even notice when we opened the door.

“Boba,” I said softly.

My father looked up, eyebrows raised.

“Girls! What good fortune brings you my way this morning?”

The office had just enough space for a wooden desk and two chairs. There was a curio behind his seat with book spines running the length of each shelf. On one wall was a trio of black-and-white photographs of uniformed men. A picture of our family sat on his desk, facing him. In the picture, I held Faheem while our parents sat on either side of us. Faheem looked ready to wriggle out of my arms, and I looked terrified of dropping him.

“We’ve finished our homework for the week and returned our books to the library. How is your work going?” I asked, easing into the true purpose of our visit. Boba leaned back in his chair. He seemed more intrigued than annoyed by our interruption.

“I might have better luck flying a kite in a box,” he replied with a sigh. He lowered his eyeglasses. “Where are your brothers?”

“Rostam is trying to train the white pigeons in the garden to do flips and loops, and Faheem is watching him.”

“And do you girls think he will be successful in this bold mission?” my father asked.

Neelab shook her head.

“Faheem told him to give up,” she said. “Everyone knows the pigeons who call Arg home cannot be trained.”

“Wise observation, Neelab-jan. Now, I can’t imagine you two came here to discuss the temperament of pigeons.”

Since my father respected straight talk, I placed both my hands on his desk and looked him in the eye.

“Boba, we want to see the treasures from Ai-Khanoum! You all kept the party off-limits to us, and now they’re going to be shipped off to the museum.”

“I see,” Boba said. He set his pen down gingerly and moved a glossy magazine aside so he could rest his elbows on the desk. “First of all, what do you girls know about Ai-Khanoum?”

“It was an old city in the north of Afghanistan when it was a kingdom of Greeks and Afghans, nestled at the crossing of two rivers,” Neelab recited dutifully.

“And King Zahir Shah stumbled upon it during a hunting trip,” I added.