Ground Zero

Reshmina, an 11-year-old girl in Afghanistan, collects firewood while practicing her English. Her twin brother, Pasoon, jumps out and scares her, pretending he is a Taliban fighter. Although they look alike, their lives are very different. Reshmina must do chores all day, but because Pasoon is a boy, he has more time for playing. Pasoon, who does not go to school anymore, asks Reshmina why she is practicing English. She tells him she wants to be a teacher, and he reminds her that when she marries she will never be allowed to work. Reshmina says she will teach before getting married, “but she knew that was a fantasy” (12). Her sister Marzia will be married soon, when she turns 16, and Reshmina knows she will also be married at 16. Her beloved sister Hila was supposed to marry at 16, but she died.

Pasoon tells Reshmina that his friends, 14-year-old boys Darwesh and Amaan, think the Taliban will beat the Americans and then English will not be important anymore. Reshmina thinks that Darwesh and Amaan are not smart, but Pasoon copies what they say and do. Darwesh and Amaan joined the Taliban last month. The Taliban took control of Afghanistan in the 1990s, and Reshmina has heard about their violent rule from her mother and grandmother. The Taliban used violence against those who did not follow their rigid Islamic law. Women were not allowed to go to school, work, or leave home without a male relative. Although the American military technically defeated the Taliban two decades prior, the Taliban are still in the mountains, and the Americans are still in Afghanistan. The Americans are fighting the Taliban with the Afghan National Army, or ANA.

Reshmina jokingly attacks Pasoon to get back at him. They laugh, and Reshmina wishes that things were still simple and happy. They hear a woman cry out and run to their village. They see ANA and American soldiers raiding their village.

Brandon and his dad arrive on the 107th floor at Windows on the World. Brandon looks out the windows and still cannot believe how high up the restaurant is. He is filling up flower vases with water when he hears a crash. There is a kitchen fire, but no one gets hurt. With his dad distracted, he decides to escape downstairs to the mall to buy the Wolverine gloves for his friend. Hoping to leave before someone sees him, he gets in the elevator that only goes to the Sky Lobby on the 78th floor. Several other people get on the elevator on the way down, and after the 86th floor, there is a loud boom. The elevator stops and tilts. Some of the passengers fall down. The elevator slowly shifts upright again but then tilts the opposite way. It rights itself again but then starts to slide down.

Reshmina runs towards her village. She does not know why the Americans are there for the first time in her life, searching all the houses. Pasoon is angry that ANA soldiers are obeying an American soldier’s orders. Reshmina runs inside their three-room house and into the “women’s room,” where she finds her older sister, Marzia, and her grandmother, along with her baby brother, Zahir. She announces that the ANA and Americans are searching homes. Her father and mother enter the women’s room as the soldiers knock on their door.

The ANA soldiers and the American soldier, Taz, keep Pasoon outside of the house. Reshmina is happy to realize she can understand Taz’s English and is shocked to realize that their translator is an Afghan woman. She never knew that an Afghan woman could have a job like that. The translator, Mariam, is from the capital city, Kabul, and Reshmina is fascinated with her. Reshmina notices that Taz, who “certainly acted like he was in charge” (28), strangely has a ripped stuffed animal strapped to him.

An ANA soldier finds a toy airplane hidden in a wall. It is Pasoon’s favorite toy, special to him because their sister Hila gave it to him before she died. When the soldiers are leaving, Pasoon yells at them for killing his sister. Baba explains to Miriam that they cannot leave things in the past the way the American wants because they have lost too many family members. Taz says they will not be bothered again so long as they do not let the Taliban in the village, and that it is their choice. Miriam tells them they have no choice because no matter who they side with, the Americans or the Taliban, the other group will kill them. Taz and Miriam say sorry to Reshmina and leave. Reshmina tries to follow Miriam; Pasoon tells her not to. He reveals that the Taliban wanted the soldiers to come to the village so that the Taliban can attack them while they leave.

The elevator continues to fall until Brandon slams the emergency stop button. He smells a burning chemical smell. None of the passengers know what is going on. One passenger, Shavinder, uses the call button and tells the person on the other line that they are stuck near the 85th floor. The person says there has been an explosion on the 91st floor, and then the phone disconnects. Smoke appears in the elevator. The only passenger with a cell phone tries to use it, but there is no signal.

Brandon thinks about his dad and does not know how he will survive without him. Shavinder wets napkins and tells people to put them on their mouths to help breathe through the smoke. All the passengers sit on the floor and introduce themselves. Brandon starts to shake in fear and regrets ever leaving his dad. One of the other passengers, Mike, lifts Brandon up to the ceiling to try to open it, but there is too much smoke. Several passengers get the door cracked open, and Shavinder, who has a serving cart full of dishes, puts a tray inside the crack to keep it open.

The 85th floor is blocked by drywall because the express elevator does not stop there. Mike kicks and runs at it, but it does not break. Brandon gives Mike a butter knife, and the passengers take turns chipping away at the wall. The smoke gets worse, and they are afraid they will die. Finally, there is a hole big enough for Brandon to fit through. The passengers encourage him to escape, so he climbs out.

Reshmina is shocked that Pasoon knew about the Taliban attack, which will kill Afghan soldiers. She starts to run away so she can warn the soldiers, but the attack begins before she can get there. Pasoon tells her to run away, so she hides inside her house with her family. Pasoon does not go inside with her. As Reshmina waits for the fight to end, she daydreams about becoming a translator like Miriam. She knows it is “an almost-impossible dream” (44), but she believes that life is meaningless without dreams. She tries to study English, but her mother tells her to do chores instead. When Reshmina grows angry, her grandmother tells her about the history of Afghanistan. Her grandmother grew up in Kabul before the Taliban and the Soviets before them. Women had many freedoms at that time. Her mother, however, grew up during wartime and has lost many family members. Her grandmother explains to Reshmina that this is why her mother is not a dreamer like she is.

The fighting stops, and Reshmina goes outside to get more firewood, practicing English out loud. She finds Taz bleeding on the ground; he cannot see. Reshmina considers leaving him to die as revenge for her sister’s death. The beliefs and ways of her people, called Pashtunwali, say that badal, or revenge, is justified. She drops her English notebook, and Taz realizes she is there. He asks her to help him. Pashtunwali also says that you cannot refuse to help anyone who asks for it. Now she must choose between taking revenge and helping Taz. He asks for help again.