. .

In Karachi’s streets even the mourners turn their faces skywards to the rain and falling leaves. Between sheets of water, indistinct figures dance together.

I take Karim’s hand and pull him into the music.

‘Follow me,’ I say. ‘I know the way.’

About the Author

KAMILA SHAMSIE’s first novel, In the City by the Sea, was shortlisted for the John Llewelyn Rhys/Mail on Sunday Prize. After her second novel, Salt and Saffron, she was named one of the Orange Futures “21 Writers for the 21st century”. A recipient of the Award for Literary Achievement in Pakistan, she lives in Karachi and London, where she writes frequently for The Guardian. She often teaches in the U.S.