Journal Prompt: The Kite Runner

Hello, my name is Amir and today is a very special day. Today is the day of the lafz, or the ceremony for giving word. I am at Taheri’s house with Baba. I hear Baba ask the general to accept me into their family as their son in law. I do not say anything, but I feel scared. I feel as if the general will reject me from coming into their family. In the end, the general agrees and I see everyone applaud and cheer.

A few minutes later, my fiancée, Soraya and I have the shitini-khori, or the eating sweets ceremony. That’s right, you guessed it, today is my big wedding day! I found out Baba spent $35,000 for my wedding. I couldn’t believe it. That was a lot of money. I try not to think about it too much, when we have the nika, or swearing our oaths ceremony.

Suddenly, a thought comes to my head. I started to wonder if Hassan too had married. If he did, whose face was under the veil? All these questions started to flutter into my head, and my mind started to go crazy.

That night, I sleep with Soraya. This is the first time I have ever slept with her. I feel scared because what if this isn’t what she wants? I tried to think of other things to keep my mind off of it.

Soraya and I move in with Baba because he is very sick. One day, I see Soraya reading a story to Baba. I looked what story it was, and it was my very own story. I couldn’t believe it. Baba actually appreciated and liked me story that tears started running down my face. I couldn’t take it anymore, so I left the room.

A month has passed since the wedding and Baba passes away. I cry in grief, wanting another moment with him before he left, but it was too late. There was no going back.

A few months later, Soraya and I get a 1-bedroom apartment to stay in. I decide to go to college, at San Jose state and major in English. A year later, Soraya enrolls and majors in education. Soraya tells the general, but he isn’t too happy. I am not sure why, but I see his face and it looks as if he is frustrated.

I then write my first novel. I send the manuscript to a bunch of agencies, and the agencies actually agreed! I was filled with joy. I am now a professional novelist!!

One day, Soraya and I try to have a child. Unfortunately, something was wrong. We went to go see the doctor and found out that Soraya cannot get pregnant because she has “unexplained infertility”. We tell the general and Taheri about this, and Soraya and I decide that we want to adopt a child.

In the end, we do not adopt a child, but move to Bernal Heights.

Today, I got a call from Rahim Khan. Rahim says that is is sick and wants me to go to Afghanistan to see him. I tell Rahim Khan I am not sure yet, and I will tell him later once I have made my decision. I needed to get some air to think about it, so I go for a walk. While I was walking, I see red kites. This reminds me so much of Afghanistan on how I won the kite fighting tournament with Hassan. Hassan. Oh how much I miss Hassan.

After the walk, I have made my final decision. I call back Rahim Khan and tell him that I will go to Afghanistan. Then, it is late already, so I go to bed. I have a dream. This dream is about Hassan. I always wonder why I dream about Hassan a lot. Maybe it is because I miss him too much. I never know why.