Summary

Mustafa thinks back to a story his mother told him when he was 13. At that age, he was still skipping out on his scholarly pursuits because he wanted to become a merchant. His mother told him a story about a skilled embroider who became fascinated when she was working her craft for the Sultan’s palace. Her mother had warned her about going to the palace, but she went anyway. She had to pretend to be a musician in his court. She didn’t know how to play, so she got thrown out and her fingers were damaged in the process. Mustafa wasn’t sure if he was the young girl in the story, or if his father was the Sultan who didn’t appreciate his skills.

Some time later, Mustafa’s father was celebrating that the town was refusing to pay the Portuguese...