‘No. But…Sarah at school told me that Uncle Akbar was a bad man and a monster and now that he is dead he will come and get me.’ Haala stopped. She was embarrassed. ‘She said that’s why the girls won’t come to my birthday party. Is it true, Baba? Is Uncle Akbar a monster?’ The little girl looked up expectantly at her father.

Nadeem kissed the top of his daughter’s head. ‘No, my love. It’s not true.’

‘I’m glad,’ she said. ‘I liked him.’ She paused for a moment and then spoke again tentatively. ‘Baba,’ she said. ‘Is Mama a monster too?’ Nadeem hugged the little girl tight and told her to sleep – she had school in the morning. But Haala had more questions. ‘Baba, what is a Parkie? Sarah Mathews said I was a Parkie. I told her we weren’t Parkies, we were Pukhtuns. That’s right, isn’t it, Baba?’

‘Yes, darling. That’s right. Now close your eyes,’ he said. Nadeem looked down at the little girl, who was already starting to drift off in his arms. She was the most beautiful thing in his life. She had her grandmother’s eyes, eyes that he hadn’t seen since his mother died that day in the fire. Growing up without her had been hard. Nadeem had been his mother’s favourite child. He felt her loss infinitely, even now. He’d buried himself in work; taking on other personas brought relief, at least for the time he was on stage. But Haala’s birth had meant having to leave that life.

Nadeem’s girlfriend, the little girl’s mother, had left early on and he had raised Haala alone. Looking back, he didn’t blame her. They had met at work and had fallen fast for each other. Their relationship had been passionate and addictive, drinking each other in and living life to the full. It was a fairground ride on love heroin. But a baby brought change, one that she could not handle. The passionate debates that at one time had ended in sex now became arguments that led to her throwing whatever came to hand. So she had left. But if she’d found the relationship difficult, she found separation from her daughter even harder. Unable to make peace with either option, her addictive personality had led her down dark corridors from which she could not escape.