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Nine-year-old Suleiman is just awakening to the wider world beyond the games on the hot pavement outside his home and beyond the loving embrace of his parents. He becomes the man of the house when his father goes away on business, but then he sees his father standing in the market square in a pair of dark glasses. Suddenly the wider world becomes a frightening place where parents lie and questions go unanswered. Suleiman turns to his mother, who entrusts him with the secret story of her childhood.

"وفي بعض الصباحات الشتوية عندما تلتحف السماء بظلمة عنيدة، كنت أتسلل إلى سريرها البديل وأنا بكامل ملابسي المدرسية، ثم أتقوقع في التجويف الذي خلّفته في الملاءات وأتساءل وربطة عنقي تضغط على رقبتي، والدفء يسري في خدي من وسادتها، كيف للفردوس أن يكون شيئاً مختلفاً عن هذا؟"