Parvana's Journey by Deborah Ellis Read Free Book Online

the rest of the diapers and spread them out to dry. “I wish you could wash out your own diapers,” she said to Hassan.
    Hassan reached for a shiny stone, ignoring Parvana’s complaints.
    “It would probably really annoy you if I came with you, wouldn’t it?” Asif said. “You’d probably hate it. You’re probably wishing and wishing that I’ll stay behind.”
    Parvana smoothed the wrinkles out of one of the washed diapers. She didn’t say anything.
    “In that case,” Asif said, “I’ll come. Just to annoy you.”
    Parvana felt a strange, surprising relief. She had known, deep inside, that she wouldn’t have been able to leave him behind.
    “Please don’t,” she said.
    “Forget it,” he said. “My mind is made up. And don’t try to sneak away without me, because I’ll catch you, and you’ll be sorry.”
    The idea of Asif catching up with anything faster than a worm almost made her smile, but she caught herself in time. She got her shoulder bag and sat down to write to her friend.
    Dear Shauzia:
    We’re moving away from here tomorrow. I like staying in one place, but each time I do, it gets harder to leave. After all the moving around that I’ve done, I should be used to it. But I’m not.
    We have to leave, though. We’re running out of food. We’re down to four scoops of rice and a bit of oil.
    I don’t know if there will be food where we’re going, but I do know there won’t be any more here.
    Maybe we’ll find a really wonderful place with lots of food, and grownups who can look after Hassan, and a room I can sleep in that’s far away from everyone who bothers me.
    Was I always this grumpy?
    I hope there’s lots of food where you are. I wish you could send us some.
    Until next time,
    Your friend,
    Parvana
    The next morning, Parvana washed out the diapers Hassan had dirtied again and wrapped them in a cloth. She would spread them out to dry when they stopped for a rest.
    She started to bundle up the food.
    “What if there’s no water where we’re going?” Asif asked. “How will you cook the rice? You didn’t think of that, did you?”
    She hadn’t, although she hated to admit it. She took the cook-pot out of the bundle.
    “I guess I should cook it all up now,” she said. “I don’t like to do that. I don’t know how long it will last without growing moldy if it’s cooked.”
    “We’ll eat it before it gets moldy,” Asif said. “There’s not that much left.”
    Parvana knew he was right. Four little cups of rice would not last long with two children and one baby eating it. She gathered some grasses and dried weeds. Asif broke them into the right size, struck a match, and soon had a fire going. Parvana fetched water, and they cooked the rice.
    “We could eat some while it’s hot, couldn’t we?” Asif asked.
    Parvana thought that would be a good idea. “We’ll only eat a little bit,” she said. “It’s got to last until we find more food.”
    They ate the hot rice right out of the pot. Hassan sat on Asif’s lap, and Asif fed him, too.
    It seemed like they had just started eating when Parvana noticed the pot was only half filled with rice.
    “Stop eating!” she cried, snatching the pot away from Asif’s hands. “This has got to last!”
    “Why did you eat so much, then?”
    “Don’t blame me! You’re the one who kept shoveling it in, as if we were rich people with bags of rice all over the place.” Parvana flung her arm so violently in anger that the pot of rice slipped out of her fingers and flew off into the dirt.
    It landed bottom up.
    Neither child spoke. They stared at the up-turned pot.
    After a long, terrible moment, Parvana walked over to the pot and carefully lifted it up. Most of the rice was still stuck to the bottom. She must have cooked it too long.
    There was still some rice on the ground. Asif shuffled over on his behind, and together they picked up the rice, grain by grain, and put it back in the pot.
    When everything was packed up, Parvana