Sparks Like Stars: A Novel

Tilly tells the border guard that she needs to see a doctor, and Sitara thinks she is putting on an act of frailty. Sitara admires the hearty way Tilly says goodbye to Indigo and Patricia, reminding them to hug their mothers. They enter the embassy in Islamabad. Sitara thinks of the ring she has sewn inside her shirt. Tilly begins calling Sitara Aryana and asks the officials to contact Antonia. Sitara feels strange being addressed by her sister’s name and feels as if she is falling.

Tilly thinks she has allergies, as she is sniffling. Sitara feels guilty about how much Tilly and Antonia are doing for her, but Tilly says Antonia loves to help. At the embassy, a man named Leo says there are some complications with getting Aryana a passport. Sitara flinches when soldiers come through the door.

Sitara recalls stories her father told her of the legends of Afghanistan: how Alexander the Great fell in love with an Afghan woman, Rukhshana, or how the descendants of Genghis Khan, the ethnic Hazara, populated the country. There are shouts and gunfire outside, a protest getting out of hand, and the soldiers escort