BooksBarbecue
Back The Wild Ones Save as PDF
Chapters (61)
  1. Cover
  2. PRAISE FOR The Wild Ones
  3. Title Page
  4. Dedication
  5. Epigraph
  6. The Beginning, or How Paheli Became the First Wild One; With a Cameo by Taraana, the Boy Made of Stars.
  7. An Introduction; Hold On to Your Hats.
  8. The Sweetness in the Sugarcane, or The Impractical Nature of Immortality
  9. Paheli: The Vagrant Experiences of a Mango Addict
  10. Cotton Candy Sugar Screams
  11. From the Book of MEMORIES
  12. “Will You Walk into My Parlor?” Said the Spider to the Fly.
  13. The Best Ice Cream in the World, Teddy Bears, and a Tree Creature.
  14. From the Book of MEMORIES
  15. I.
  16. The Reappearance of the Boy Made of Stars and the Plight of the Girl by the Oleander Lane.
  17. Paheli: An Interlude in Blue
  18. Besieged in the Between
  19. Tea, the City of Stairs, and the Story of a Boy
  20. From the Book of MEMORIES
  21. Heartbreak, Stone Buildings, and Tandoori
  22. Observations, Conversations, and Hot Parantha
  23. Paheli: The Spies Who Came In from the Between
  24. From the Book of MEMORIES
  25. The French Quarter, the Spanish Half, and Eulalie
  26. Paheli: The Eggplant Overture
  27. Sunny Jelly Beans, Po’Boys, and “Alouette”
  28. From the Book of MEMORIES
  29. The Keeper of the Green and the Mysteries of Magic
  30. Blood and the Between
  31. The Library of the Lost and the Stories of the Silenced
  32. Walking in Wicked Ways or The Importance of Balık Ekmek
  33. From the Book of MEMORIES
  34. Looking for the Needle in the Haystack
  35. Paheli: The Peculiar Crackle in the Electricity
  36. Ten Degrees Past Despair
  37. The Fault in the Stars
  38. The Blue City in the Mountains
  39. Paheli: Disharmony in the Attics
  40. From the Book of MEMORIES
  41. Paheli: Continued
  42. The Politics of a Body, the Politics of Pleasure
  43. The Medina, the Riad, and the Red City
  44. Paheli: The Atlas Mountains, the Cozy Rooftop, and the Confession, Possibly of Love
  45. From the Book of MEMORIES
  46. Souks, Spices, and Survival: A Guide into Chaos
  47. Jemaa el-Fna: The Mosque at the End of the World
  48. Paheli: A Moment in Chartreuse
  49. From the Book of MEMORIES
  50. Paheli: On the Frailties of the Heart
  51. Sonagi, or A Sudden Rain
  52. Paheli: The Cheese in the Trap
  53. Paheli: The Maze and the Minotaur
  54. A New Era, a New Dar; the River Sings
  55. The Burning Door, the Fallen City, and Taraana 2.0
  56. Paheli: The Beginning of Forever
  57. From the Book of MEMORIES
  58. Moving One Rock at a Time Will Eventually Move a Mountain, aka Goodbye
  59. Acknowledgments
  60. More from the Author
  61. About the Author

“First, can I tell you about myself?” I pretend I can still stop. I can still walk away.

He nods; the stars in his eyes are glowing.

“I…” Wow. This is going to hurt. “I was in a very dark place the day you tossed me the box of stars. I don’t know if I’ll ever forgive you for seeing me at my lowest, though in all the ways that matter, I’m glad you did. Do you know what I mean?” He nods. I continue. “I escaped into the Between right after, but I knew nothing about it. I stayed there for a week, cowering in a corner. Shattered. Hurt both physically and emotionally. Eulalie was the only one who stopped and asked me if I was okay. She insisted on taking me out and to her home. She took care of me. Nursed me. Held me in her arms when I cried and stopped me when I tried to die. I owe her as big of a debt as I owe you, and yet, I can barely answer the love she shows me.” I meet his eyes and almost cry at the softness in them. “I’m broken that way.

“Eulalie is nothing like my mother. My mother, that woman…” I swallow and try again. “My mother sold me to a rich man who raped me. And Eulalie is nothing like that. She would never do anything like that. In my mind, I know that, but my heart, you see? My heart is convinced that if I lower my walls and let her in, she will hurt me. It has been so long, and I am still scared that she will hurt me. And you…” I clench my fists. “You are the best person I know. You are good. In a really horribly sincere way. And I am not. I am not good, nor do I intend to be. No, don’t say anything. Hear me out. I didn’t kill the man who raped me, but I made him wish he were dead. It was entirely too easy to do. Hurting him gave me pleasure. I am not sorry about that. I won’t be sorry about that.

“And, I’m just saying this, but if it turns out that there’s no way to defeat Baarish other than by killing him, I will make that decision. Because that’s how bad I am.” I turn away from Taraana. I am afraid to meet his eyes, so I address his chin. “So, the answer to your question, if you still want it after everything I’ve said, is that yes, I could love you. Maybe I already do a little. I think I could try? The thought terrifies me, and I can’t promise a happy ending. Do you still maybe… want me?”