Chapter 4

Atiq starts out at the mosque praying, and as he leaves he over hears veterans telling war stories. They were arguing over the smell of their dead soldiers. One man said that they smelled badly, but a few of the others insisted that they smelled good because they were blessed for serving their god. This shows great commitment and faithfulness to me. If they can truly tell themselves that their friends' dead bodies smelled good because of their god, then they must really believe in Allah. After listening for a while, Atiq goes home to find his house is clean. His sister is usually the one that cleans, but he knew that she wasn't there that day. He finds his wife using all her strength, and the doorway to hold herself up. She admits that she cleaned and Atiq gets mad at her because she used her strength and he wants her to save it so that she can get better. I admire her will to continue her everyday activities and desire to please her husband. However, it seemed like she was somewhat whiney about the situation. Even though she did clean the house, it was like she couldn't do it without bragging about how she did it even though she was ill. It's not like she came right out and said something directly, but I could sense the tone in her words. I don't know if I really like her or not. It's respectable that she did clean, however some respect is lost with her complaint.