I weave between the alleyways, stopping to shake the grains of sand from between my sandals. Hassan follows closely behind.

I raise an arm to shield my face from the blast-furnace heat.

“They all love you.” Hassan looks at me in awe, grinning. “They said they’d only let me come if I brought you along.”

“Oh.” I manage a clumsy nod.

The silence that followed was like a scorpion being pulled through a glass tube.