And the past held only this wisdom: that love was a damaging mistake, and its accomplice, hope, a treacherous illusion. And whenever those twin poisonous flowers began to sprout in the parched land of that field, Mariam uprooted them. She uprooted them and ditched them before they took hold.

And that, ...is the story of our country, one invasion after another...Macedonians. Saddanians. Arabs. Mongols. Now the Soviets. But we're like those walls up there. Battered, and nothing pretty to look at, but still standing.

Her impulse, her need, to be the corrector of injustices, warden of the downtrodden flock. And

People in the countryside carry a sense of dignity. They wear it, don't they? Like a badge? I'm being genuine.

There is only one sin. and that is theft... when you tell a lie, you steal someones right to the truth.

I ran. A grown man running with a swarm of screaming children. But i didn't care. I ran with the wind blowing in my face, and a smile as wide as the Valley of Panjsher on my lip. I ran

Behind every trial and sorrow that He makes us shoulder, God has a reason.