The Breadwinner Series Bundle by Deborah Ellis

Author:Deborah Ellis
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Groundwood Books Ltd
Published: 2016-11-15T00:00:00+00:00

TWO

There was no escaping the sound of Mrs. Weera’s snoring, and by now Shauzia knew better than to try. She used to put a pillow over her ears, or toss and turn and make loud sighing noises, hoping to wake Mrs. Weera, but nothing worked. Mrs. Weera slept the way she did everything — full out — and she didn’t waste time worrying about whether she was bothering anyone else.

Shauzia sometimes went to another hut to sleep, but Mrs. Weera’s hut gave her something no other place did — a little bit of privacy. Shauzia slept on a toshak spread out under the table. A blanket hung over the side of the table created a tiny, private space.

“It doesn’t keep the snoring out,” she said to Jasper, who usually slept with her. “But it does make me feel like there is some place in the world that is mine.”

Shauzia lay awake in her little room late on the night after Mrs. Weera left her in the courtyard. The rest of the day had gone from bad to worse.

At Shauzia’s goodbye party that evening, everyone in the compound ate together around the cook fire in the courtyard. Mrs. Weera made a speech about how much she had appreciated all of Shauzia’s hard work.

“I know Shauzia will be successful in reaching her goal of getting to the sea, and of building a fine new life for herself in France.” She went on to talk about how beautiful she had heard France was, and how she was sure Shauzia would have a marvelous time wandering through the cornfields.

All the time she spoke, Shauzia’s fists were tightly clenched in anger.

After Mrs. Weera had finished talking, the other women also said nice things about Shauzia. How helpful she was, how clever, how they knew she had a brilliant future ahead of her.

And then the children piped up.

“Don’t go, Shauzia!” they cried, the little ones sobbing and crowding in on her. “Stay and tell us stories!”

Shauzia was furious. She knew Mrs. Weera had staged this party to make her want to stay in the refugee camp.

Then Mrs. Weera said, “I have good news, Shauzia. I’ve arranged a job for you in Peshawar. You will be a housemaid in a women’s needlework project and daycare center. You can live at the center, and the job will pay enough that you’ll have a bit of money to save even after you pay for your rent and food. Isn’t that wonderful? Plus, I’ll be able to come and visit you every week when I meet with the project. I’ll take you there tomorrow and help you get settled.”

The other women applauded and talked about how lucky Shauzia was, but Shauzia was seething.

She was still seething as she lay on her mat, with Mrs. Weera’s snores all around her.

“She thinks she can control everything,” she whispered to Jasper. “She thinks she can control me.”

She remembered her first day at the Widows’ Compound. She had been wandering around the camp after being dropped off there by the shepherds, and was directed to the compound by an aid worker.

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