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Mariam asks to go to Jalil's cinema from "A Thousand Splendid Suns". For her fifteenth birthday, Mariam asks Jalil to take her to his cinema in Herat to see a cartoon. Both Jalil and Nana object, but Mariam insists.

spring 1974, when Mariam turns fifteen

Mariam asks to go to Jalil's cinema

For her fifteenth birthday, Mariam asks Jalil to take her to his cinema in Herat to see a cartoon. Both Jalil and Nana object, but Mariam insists. Jalil reluctantly agrees to meet her at the stream the next day. This request represents Mariam's first major act of defiance against her mother's wishes and her desire to be part of Jalil's legitimate world.