Chapter 5
A Friendly Face?
A girl named Lily smiles at Karim. She offers him a crayon, but he flinches, his shyness a wall between them. Lily looks a little sad, but she doesn't give up. She keeps watching him from across the classroom.
Karim clutched the worn fabric of his shirt, the rough wool a familiar comfort against his trembling fingers. The classroom buzzed with a language he barely understood, a chaotic symphony of sounds that swirled around him like an alien wind. Every face was new, every smile a mystery. He sat at his desk, a small island in a sea of boisterous children, his eyes fixed on the swirling patterns of the linoleum floor. It was a world away from the dusty lanes of his village, from the comforting rhythm of his mother’s voice, from the easy laughter of his friends. Here, everything was loud and fast and bewildering.
A bright splash of colour caught his eye. A girl with hair the colour of spun sunshine, tied back with a blue ribbon, was holding out a crayon. It was a vibrant red, the colour of the pomegranates that grew in his grandmother’s garden. Karim’s heart gave a little leap. He wanted it. He wanted to draw, to escape into the silent world of lines and shapes, to create a small corner of his own in this overwhelming place. But as he reached out, his hand brushed against the air, and a sudden wave of fear washed over him. What if he took it? What if she laughed? What if he wasn’t supposed to? His hand recoiled as if burned, and he ducked his head, his cheeks flushing hot.
The girl’s smile faltered, a shadow of confusion crossing her bright face. She lowered the crayon slowly, her eyes, the colour of a summer sky, lingering on Karim for a moment longer. He saw a flicker of something in them – not disappointment, exactly, but a quiet sort of sadness. Then, with a small sigh, she turned back