Tears slide down my cheeks. Rostam rubs both eyes harshly, blotting his tears.

“The other night . . . was that you in the street? Were you following me?” I ask.

Rostam nods.

“I have become friendly with someone at the Ministry of the Interior,” he says. “He told me someone named Zamani claimed to have lost her family in Arg. When he said your father’s name, I nearly choked on my tea. I didn’t know what to believe, or why you were using your sister’s name. He told me you were staying at the Intercontinental. I’m embarrassed to say how much time I spent watching the hotel, but I needed to see with my own eyes if it was really you.”

Rostam has come today to the American embassy to see if they would give him any information on who I might be. My heart soars to realize he had been looking for me and that I have been found.

“I’ll be going home soon,” Rostam says. “My mother wasn’t well enough to make this trip, and I have to get back to her. Most days she does not recognize me.”

I remember how his mother would gather Neelab and me in her arms and beg us not to get into any mischief around the palace. I hate to think of the suffering she’s endured.

“I will be heading back home soon too,” I tell Rostam. “But we’re going back to Pol-e-charkhi first. I need to check once more.”

Rostam nods. He doesn’t need me to explain to him why it’s so important to find them.

“May I join you?” he asks.

“Are you sure?” I want him to come with us but also realize that means returning to the place where he was held prisoner as a child and where many of his family members were buried.

“Yes,” Rostam says, straightening his shoulders. “Staying away changes nothing.”

We pile into the taxi. Mom sits in the backseat between Clay and me. Rostam slides in beside the driver. The drive to the prison is quiet. Rostam turns his head a few times to ask me about my work or if I’ve heard from anyone else we used to know. Clay asks him a few questions too. I suppose he can’t help himself.

Hamburg is home. This is his third trip to Kabul. He used to work as a tech consultant but lately cares for his mother.

“Now that I have settled this matter, I can focus on getting back to work,” he says in Dari to me, as if he owes me some explanation.