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Sultan’s the quiet middle child with a
quirkiness and wit that sets him apart from his
siblings.
He’s a gentle boy who prefers to watch shows
about magic than play Cricket with his brother
and the boys in the street. He wishes he had a
magic pencil like the boy in his favorite TV
show (Shaka-Laka-Boom-Boom). He’d love to read
stories about magic but there is no library and
they can’t afford to buy story books from town.
While I heard Sultan, I wondered how happy he’d
be if he got the Harry Potter books.
He hates creating a fuss and for this reason
doesn’t like girls – his sisters are the only
girls he knows closely and they’re too fussy for
him. He’s decided never to get married. Children
use “never” and “always” with such ease and feel
no shame in changing their minds.
I ask Sultan if he’d like to buy a car like
Atta would – he tells me he prefers planes and
will be a pilot when he grows up (even though
he’s never seen one other than on TV). Cars make
him motion sick. He will buy a motorbike to
avoid the motion sickness. I don’t have the
heart to tell him that planes cause horrible
motion sickness.
Sultan’s never been to a large city and doesn’t
want to leave his hometown. I ask him how he’ll
manage to be a pilot and yet never
leave home. The explanation is simple enough –
he’ll fly home every night.
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