Chapter 13.

On the bus ride home from the doctor, the strangest thingwas happening to Mariam. Everywhere she looked, she sawbright colors: on the drab, gray concrete apartments, on thetin-roofed, open-fronted stores, in the muddy water flowing inthe gutters¹. It was as though a rainbow had melted into hereyes.
Rasheed was drumming his gloved fingers and humming asong. Every time the bus bucked² over a pothole³ and jerkedforward, his hand shot protectively over her belly⁴.
"What about Zalmai?" he said. "It's a good Pashtun name.""What if it's a girl?" Mariam said.
"I think it's a boy. Yes. A boy."A murmur⁵ was passing through the bus. Some passengerswere pointing at something and other passengers were leaningacross seats to see.
"Look," said Rasheed, tapping a knuckle⁶ on the glass. He wassmiling. "There. See?"On the streets, Mariam saw people stopping in their tracks. Attraffic lights, faces emerged from the windows of cars, turnedupward toward the falling softness. What was it about aseason's first snowfall, Mariam wondered, that was soentrancing? Was it the chance to see something as yetunsoiled, untrodden? To catch the fleeting⁷ grace of a newseason, a lovely beginning, before it was trampled⁸ andcorrupted?
"If it's a girl," Rasheed said, "and it isn't, but, if itis a girl,then you can choose whatever name you want."* * *Mahiam awoke the next morning to the sound of sawing andhammering- She wrapped a shawl around her and went outinto the snowblown yard. The heavy snowfall of the previousnight had stopped. Now only a scattering⁹ of light, swirling¹⁰ flakestickled her cheeks. The air was windless and smelled likeburning coal. Kabul was eerily¹¹ silent, quilted in white, tendrils ofsmoke snaking up here and there.
She found Rasheed in the toolshed, pounding nails into aplank of wood. When he saw her, he removed a nail from thecorner of his mouth.
"It was going to be a surprise. He'll need a crib. You weren'tsupposed to see until it was done."Mariam wished he wouldn't do that, hitch¹² his hopes to itsbeing a boy. As happy as she was about this pregnancy¹³, hisexpectation weighed on her. Yesterday, Rasheed had gone outand come home with a suede¹⁴ winter coat for a boy, linedinside with soft sheepskin, the sleeves embroidered¹⁵ with fine redand yellow silk thread.
Rasheed lifted a long, narrow board. As he began to saw it inhalf, he said the stairs worried him. "Something will have to bedone about them later, when he's old enough to climb." Thestove worried him too, he said. The knives and forks wouldhave to be stowed somewhere out of reach. "You can't be toocareful Boys are reckless creatures."Mariam pulled the shawl around her against the chill.
* * *The next morning, Rasheed said he wanted to invite hisfriends for dinner to celebrate. All morning, Mariam cleanedlentils and moistened rice. She sliced eggplants forborani, andcooked leeks¹⁶ and ground beef foraushak. She swept the floor,beat the curtains, aired the house, despite the snow that hadstarted up again. She arranged mattresses¹⁷ and cushions alongthe walls of the living room, placed bowls of candy and roastedalmonds on the table.
She was in her room by early evening before the first of themen arrived. She lay in bed as the hoots¹⁸ and laughter andbantering voices downstairs began to mushroom. She couldn'tkeep her hands from drifting to her belly. She thought of whatwas growing there, and happiness rushed in like a gust¹⁹ ofwind blowing a door wide open. Her eyes watered.
Mariam thought of her six-hundred-and-fifty-kilometer bus tripwith Rasheed, from Herat in the west, near the border withIran, to Kabul in the east. They had passed small towns andbig towns, and knots of little villages that kept springing up oneafter another. They had gone over mountains and acrossraw-burned deserts, from one province to the next. And hereshe was now, over those boulders²⁰ and parched²¹ hills, with ahome of her own, a husband of her own, heading toward onefinal, cherished province: Motherhood. How delectable²² it was tothink ofthis baby,her baby,their baby. How glorious it was to knowthat her love for it already dwarfed²³ anything she had ever feltas a human being, to know that there was no need anylonger for pebble²⁴ games.
Downstairs, someone was tuning²⁵ a harmonium. Then theclanging of a hammer tuning a tabla. Someone cleared histhroat. And then there was whistling and clapping and yippingand singing.
Mariam stroked the softness of her belly.No bigger thanafingernail, the doctor had said.
I'm going to be a mother,she thought.
"I'm going to be a mother," she said. Then she was laughingto herself, and saying it over and over, relishing²⁶ the words.
When Mariam thought of this baby, her heart swelled²⁷ insideof her. It swelled and swelled until all the loss, all the grief, allthe loneliness and self-abasement of her life washed away. Thiswas why God had brought her here, all the way across thecountry. She knew this now. She remembered a verse fromthe Koran that Mullah Faizullah had taught her:And Allah isthe East and the West, therefore wherever you turn there isAllah's purpose … She laid down her prayer rug anddidnamaz. When she was done, she cupped her hands beforeher face and asked God not to let all this good fortune slipaway from her.
* * *It was Rasheed'S idea to go to thehamam. Mariam had neverbeen to a bathhouse, but he said there was nothing finer thanstepping out and taking that first breath of cold air, to feel theheat rising from the skin.
In the women'shamam, shapes moved about in the steamaround Mariam, a glimpse of a hip²⁸ here, the contour of ashoulder there. The squeals²⁹ of young girls, the grunts³⁰ of oldwomen, and the trickling³¹ of bathwater echoed between thewalls as backs were scrubbed and hair soaped. Mariam sat inthe far corner by herself, working on her heels with a pumicestone, insulated by a wall of steam from the passing shapes.
Then there was blood and she was screaming.
The sound of feet now, slapping against the wet cobblestones.
Faces peering at her through the steam. Tongues clucking.
Later that night, in bed, Fariba told her husband that whenshe'd heard the cry and rushed over she'd found Rasheed'swife shriveled into a corner, hugging her knees, a pool of bloodat her feet.
"You could hear the poor girl's teeth rattling³², Hakim, she wasshivering so hard."When Mariam had seen her, Fariba said, she had asked in ahigh, supplicating³³ voice,It's normal, isn't it? Isn't it? Isn 'i itnormal?
* * *Another bus ride with Rasheed. Snowing again. Falling thickthis time. It was piling in heaps on sidewalks, on roofs,gathering in patches on the bark of straggly trees. Mariamwatched the merchants plowing³⁴ snow from their storefronts- Agroup of boys was chasing a black dog. They waved sportivelyat the bus. Mariam looked over to Rasheed. His eyes wereclosed He wasn't humming. Mariam reclined her head andclosed her eyes too. She wanted out of her cold socks, out ofthe damp wool sweater that was prickly against her skin. Shewanted away from this bus.
At the house, Rasheed covered her with a quilt when she layon the couch, but there was a stiff, perfunctory air about thisgesture.
"What kind of answer is that?" he said again. "That's what amullah is supposed to say. You pay a doctor his fee, you wanta better answer than 'God's will.'"Mariam curled up her knees beneath the quilt and said heought to get some rest.
"God's will," he simmered.
He sat in his room smoking cigarettes all day.
Mariam lay on the couch, hands tucked between her knees,watched the whirlpool of snow twisting and spinning outside thewindow. She remembered Nana saying once that eachsnowflake was a sigh heaved by an aggrieved³⁵ womansomewhere in the world. That all the sighs drifted up the sky,gathered into clouds, then broke into tiny pieces that fell silentlyon the people below.
As a reminder³⁶ of how women like us suffer,she'd said.Howquietly we endure all that falls upon us.

1 gutters   

（路边）排水沟( gutter的名词复数 )； 阴沟； （屋顶的）天沟； 贫贱的境地

参考例句：

• Gutters lead the water into the ditch. 排水沟把水排到这条水沟里。
• They were born, they grew up in the gutters. 他们生了下来，以后就在街头长大。

2 bucked   

adj.快v.（马等）猛然弓背跃起( buck的过去式和过去分词 )；抵制；猛然震荡；马等尥起后蹄跳跃

参考例句：

• When he tried to ride the horse, it bucked wildly. 当他试图骑上这匹马时，它突然狂暴地跃了起来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The plane bucked a strong head wind. 飞机顶着强烈的逆风飞行。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

3 pothole   

n.坑，穴

参考例句：

• As the car sped over a pothole she lurched forward.车子飞驶过一个坑洼时，她身子猛地向前一倾。
• The young teacher knows every pothole in the 10-minute ride to school.这位年轻的老师熟悉这条往学校的10分钟路上的每一个坑洞。

4 belly   

n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛

参考例句：

• The boss has a large belly.老板大腹便便。
• His eyes are bigger than his belly.他眼馋肚饱。

5 murmur   

n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言

参考例句：

• They paid the extra taxes without a murmur.他们毫无怨言地交了附加税。
• There was a low murmur of conversation in the hall.大厅里有窃窃私语声。

6 knuckle   

n.指节；vi.开始努力工作；屈服，认输

参考例句：

• They refused to knuckle under to any pressure.他们拒不屈从任何压力。
• You'll really have to knuckle down if you want to pass the examination.如果想通过考试，你确实应专心学习。

7 fleeting   

adj.短暂的，飞逝的

参考例句：

• The girls caught only a fleeting glimpse of the driver.女孩们只匆匆瞥了一眼司机。
• Knowing the life fleeting,she set herself to enjoy if as best as she could.她知道这种日子转瞬即逝，于是让自已尽情地享受。

8 trampled   

踩( trample的过去式和过去分词 )； 践踏； 无视； 侵犯

参考例句：

• He gripped his brother's arm lest he be trampled by the mob. 他紧抓着他兄弟的胳膊，怕他让暴民踩着。
• People were trampled underfoot in the rush for the exit. 有人在拼命涌向出口时被踩在脚下。

9 scattering   

n.[物]散射；散乱，分散；在媒介质中的散播adj.散乱的；分散在不同范围的；广泛扩散的；（选票）数量分散的v.散射(scatter的ing形式)；散布；驱散

参考例句：

• The child felle into a rage and began scattering its toys about. 这孩子突发狂怒，把玩具扔得满地都是。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The farmers are scattering seed. 农夫们在播种。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 swirling   

v.旋转，打旋( swirl的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Snowflakes were swirling in the air. 天空飘洒着雪花。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• She smiled, swirling the wine in her glass. 她微笑着，旋动着杯子里的葡萄酒。 来自辞典例句

11 eerily   

adv.引起神秘感或害怕地

参考例句：

• It was nearly mid-night and eerily dark all around her. 夜深了，到处是一片黑黝黝的怪影。 来自汉英文学 - 散文英译
• The vast volcanic slope was eerily reminiscent of a lunar landscape. 开阔的火山坡让人心生怪异地联想起月球的地貌。 来自辞典例句

12 hitch   

v.免费搭(车旅行)；系住；急提；n.故障；急拉

参考例句：

• They had an eighty-mile journey and decided to hitch hike.他们要走80英里的路程，最后决定搭便车。
• All the candidates are able to answer the questions without any hitch.所有报考者都能对答如流。

13 pregnancy   

n.怀孕，怀孕期

参考例句：

• Early pregnancy is often accompanied by nausea.怀孕早期常有恶心的现象。
• Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage.怀孕期吸烟会增加流产的危险。

14 suede   

n.表面粗糙的软皮革

参考例句：

• I'm looking for a suede jacket.我想买一件皮制茄克。
• Her newly bought suede shoes look very fashionable.她新买的翻毛皮鞋看上去非常时尚。

15 embroidered   

adj．绣花的

参考例句：

• She embroidered flowers on the cushion covers. 她在这些靠垫套上绣了花。
• She embroidered flowers on the front of the dress. 她在连衣裙的正面绣花。

16 leeks   

韭葱( leek的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Leeks and potatoes go well together in a soup. 汤中放韭菜和土豆尝起来很对味。
• When I was young I grew some leeks in a pot. 小时候我曾在花盆里种了些韭葱。

17 mattresses   

褥垫，床垫( mattress的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The straw mattresses are airing there. 草垫子正在那里晾着。
• The researchers tested more than 20 mattresses of various materials. 研究人员试验了二十多个不同材料的床垫。

18 hoots   

咄，啐

参考例句：

• His suggestion was greeted with hoots of laughter. 他的建议引起了阵阵嗤笑。
• The hoots came from the distance. 远处传来呜呜声。

19 gust   

n.阵风，突然一阵（雨、烟等），（感情的）迸发

参考例句：

• A gust of wind blew the front door shut.一阵大风吹来，把前门关上了。
• A gust of happiness swept through her.一股幸福的暖流流遍她的全身。

20 boulders   

n.卵石( boulder的名词复数 )；巨砾；（受水或天气侵蚀而成的）巨石；漂砾

参考例句：

• Seals basked on boulders in a flat calm. 海面风平浪静，海豹在巨石上晒太阳。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The river takes a headlong plunge into a maelstrom of rocks and boulders. 河水急流而下，入一个漂砾的漩涡中。 来自《简明英汉词典》

21 parched   

adj.焦干的；极渴的；v.（使）焦干

参考例句：

• Hot winds parched the crops.热风使庄稼干透了。
• The land in this region is rather dry and parched.这片土地十分干燥。

22 delectable   

adj.使人愉快的；美味的

参考例句：

• What delectable food you cook!你做的食品真好吃！
• But today the delectable seafood is no longer available in abundance.但是今天这种可口的海味已不再大量存在。

23 dwarfed   

vt.（使）显得矮小（dwarf的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The old houses were dwarfed by the huge new tower blocks. 这些旧房子在新建的高楼大厦的映衬下显得十分矮小。
• The elephant dwarfed the tortoise. 那只乌龟跟那头象相比就显得很小。 来自《简明英汉词典》

24 pebble   

n.卵石，小圆石

参考例句：

• The bird mistook the pebble for egg and tried to hatch it.这只鸟错把卵石当蛋，想去孵它。
• The pebble made a ripple on the surface of the lake.石子在湖面上激起一个涟漪。

25 tuning   

n.调谐，调整，调音v.调音( tune的现在分词 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调

参考例句：

• They are tuning up a plane on the flight line. 他们正在机场的飞机跑道上调试一架飞机。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The orchestra are tuning up. 管弦乐队在定弦。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

26 relishing   

v.欣赏( relish的现在分词 )；从…获得乐趣；渴望

参考例句：

• He ate quietly, relishing his meal. 他安静地吃着，细细品味着食物。 来自辞典例句
• Yes, an iron rampart," he repeated, relishing his phrase. 是的，就是铜墙铁壁，"他很欣赏自己用的这个字眼，又重复了一遍。 来自飘（部分）

27 swelled   

增强( swell的过去式和过去分词 )； 肿胀； （使）凸出； 充满（激情）

参考例句：

• The infection swelled his hand. 由于感染，他的手肿了起来。
• After the heavy rain the river swelled. 大雨过后，河水猛涨。

28 hip   

n.臀部，髋；屋脊

参考例句：

• The thigh bone is connected to the hip bone.股骨连着髋骨。
• The new coats blouse gracefully above the hip line.新外套在臀围线上优美地打着褶皱。

29 squeals   

n.长而尖锐的叫声( squeal的名词复数 )v.长声尖叫，用长而尖锐的声音说( squeal的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• There was an outburst of squeals from the cage. 铁笼子里传来一阵吱吱的叫声。 来自英汉文学
• There were squeals of excitement from the children. 孩子们兴奋得大声尖叫。 来自辞典例句

30 grunts   

（猪等）作呼噜声( grunt的第三人称单数 )； （指人）发出类似的哼声； 咕哝着说； 石鲈

参考例句：

• With grunts of anguish Ogilvie eased his bulk to a sitting position. 奥格尔维苦恼地哼着，伸个懒腰坐了起来。
• Linda fired twice A trio of Grunts assembling one mortar fell. 琳达击发两次。三个正在组装迫击炮的咕噜人倒下了。

31 trickling   

n.油画底色含油太多而成泡沫状突起v.滴( trickle的现在分词 )；淌；使)慢慢走；缓慢移动

参考例句：

• Tears were trickling down her cheeks. 眼泪顺着她的面颊流了下来。
• The engine was trickling oil. 发动机在滴油。 来自《简明英汉词典》

32 rattling   

adj. 格格作响的, 活泼的, 很好的 adv. 极其, 很, 非常 动词rattle的现在分词

参考例句：

• This book is a rattling good read. 这是一本非常好的读物。
• At that same instant,a deafening explosion set the windows rattling. 正在这时，一声震耳欲聋的爆炸突然袭来，把窗玻璃震得当当地响。

33 supplicating   

v.祈求，哀求，恳求( supplicate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• She stammered a few supplicating words. 她吞吞吐吐说了一些求情的话。 来自互联网

34 plowing   

v.耕( plow的现在分词 )；犁耕；费力穿过

参考例句：

• "There are things more important now than plowing, Sugar. "如今有比耕种更重要的事情要做呀，宝贝儿。 来自飘（部分）
• Since his wife's death, he has been plowing a lonely furrow. 从他妻子死后，他一直过着孤独的生活。 来自辞典例句

35 aggrieved   

adj.愤愤不平的，受委屈的；悲痛的；（在合法权利方面）受侵害的v.令委屈，令苦恼，侵害( aggrieve的过去式)；令委屈，令苦恼，侵害( aggrieve的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• He felt aggrieved at not being chosen for the team. 他因没被选到队里感到愤愤不平。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She is the aggrieved person whose fiance&1& did not show up for their wedding. 她很委屈，她的未婚夫未出现在他们的婚礼上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

36 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。