Summary

In “The Tale of Dully’s Reversion,” one day while Shakako “was praying,” her son Dully crossed her prayer rug and was “transformed into a small monkey” (175). Desperate to return Dully to his human form, she tried contacting Qadir, the Imam, but he was “on the run” (176).

Meanwhile, Dully panicked. He was a teacher at the university, and in the middle of writing his dissertation.

Shakako and her husband Gran finally reached Qadir. He wanted to know the last time Dully had prayed. Dully had stopped praying after reading about horrors and atrocities in Kabul. Qadir insisted that Dully visit and fast in front of “the shrine of Hajji Hotak in the Black Mountains” for three days (189).

Dully and Shakako decided to leave. Dully emailed the university saying he was going “to Afghanistan for the funeral services” of his mother...