Iqbal

The day of a client’s visit arrives. When foreign clients visit, Hussain treats the bonded children with false kindness. The children get extra food at breakfast, which puts them in a good mood. While the children take their turns in the bathroom, Hussain paces around the factory, but he stops and looks at Iqbal. Iqbal finished the blue Bukhara, and it is “perfect,” but he takes his working knife and cuts the carpet in half.

Hussain, his wife, and Karim all scream and run at Iqbal, and the rest of the children hide in the corner. Hussain calls Iqbal a “Hell child,” and “the mistress”—as the children refer to his wife—calls for Iqbal to be thrown into the Tomb. Hussain, his wife, and Karim drag Iqbal out to the Tomb, which is an old cistern, and lock him in. When Hussain returns to the workroom, he commands the children to return to their work. Fatima does not know why Iqbal cut the carpet, but she saw the fear on his face when he was taken to the Tomb.

The Tomb is a grate-covered cistern in Hussain’s yard. It is always dark, except for a short period in the afternoon when a little light reaches through the cracks of the door. The Tomb is hot and stuffy, which makes it difficult to breathe for those who are thrown into it, especially during the hot summer. Salman had told Fatima and the others that the Tomb felt suffocating and that he started to see things in the dark. Another boy adds that there are spiders, scorpions, and snakes, but Salman says there are no snakes.

Hussain successfully sold his carpets to the clients, but he does not celebrate with foreign music like he usually does after a visit. He extends the workday by an hour, does not feed the children, and threatens them. The bonded children are not mad at Iqbal for Hussain’s attempts at revenge. Instead, they are worried about him because it is so hot outside. Karim knows of only one other child who was put into the Tomb in the middle of summer. The boy, who was missing an ear, refused to work, so Hussain put him in the Tomb for five days. When he was let out of the Tomb he had to be carried, and his skin was peeling from the heat. Afterward, he started working and submitted to Hussain. Fatima does not think that will happen to Iqbal, but Karim says that Iqbal isn’t special and that he was probably sold because of his defiance.

Fatima suggests they help Iqbal. Karim doesn’t want to, but Salman tells him to “shut up” and offers some bread that he saved. Fatima, Salman, Karim, and Alì sneak out to take bread and water to Iqbal. Karim does not want to go, but he has the key to open the door, so Salman makes him come. Salman takes the lead and starts crawling across the yard, and the others follow. They make it to the iron door of the cistern and struggle to get it open. When the door moves, it lets out a loud squeak, which wakes Hussain’s wife. She comes to the door to look out, but she does not see anything amiss in the night. The children can hear her talking with Hussain, but she does not come out of the house to investigate the noise.

The children wait for a while after she goes back inside; then, they return to their mission. Karim lights a match, and they can see Iqbal in the bottom of the cistern. His throat is dry, and his lips are cracked. Iqbal drinks the water and wets his face. Fatima is shocked at his condition, and Salman is nervous, but Alì comes to the door and reaches for Iqbal’s hand to offer him support. Fatima says they will come back every night, and although Karim protests, they do return each night that Iqbal is in the Tomb.

Iqbal is kept in the Tomb for three days. When he comes out, his legs are weak, and he is covered in bug bites. He rests for a day, and the children care for him and let him sleep. When Iqbal is recovered, Salman asks why he cut the carpet, and Iqbal says that he did it for the bonded children as a statement that the way they are treated is not acceptable. He knows that what Hussain is doing is wrong, and he wants to advocate for everyone’s freedom. Fatima says that they cannot go home, and Salman supports her by declaring the Hussain is stronger and that no one cares about them. Iqbal retains hope that he will find someone that can help.

An older boy is taken away and replaced by a younger one whom the children nickname Twig because he is so skinny. He hurts his hand on the second day and is assigned to cleaning duties. Although daily life is much the same, Fatima notes a change in the “atmosphere.” The bonded children don’t work quite the same, they are slow to return from break, and they talk and laugh among themselves. A few issues arise, such as broken or tangled looms. Iqbal is ordered to create another blue Bukhara, and he does his work well and tells Fatima that he will not destroy this carpet.

The children get together at night and talk without waiting for Hussain to fall asleep first. Twig says they should run away, become bandits, and “attack the trucks that come into the city” (44) because they transport food. They talk about what they would like to do in abstract terms, but they do not talk about the future. While they hope for freedom, they do not believe that they will earn their liberty back. In the fall, Iqbal tells Fatima that they will fly a kite together next spring. During a storm the following night, he escapes through the bathroom window and runs away.