When Water Escapes from the Mountains

When Water Escapes from the Mountains recounts the life of Enayat Sultani, born in Kart-é-Char, a village within Kabul, Afghanistan. In this autobiography, Sultani recalls the many small details of his boyhood home, his encounters with the Taliban’s brutality, and the events that redirected him from following the local mullah to seeking escape.

Pulled in one direction by a desire to remain with the woman he counted as his life’s love, he sought his freedom by fleeing Afghanistan. He writes, “I was exhausted and covered in mud mixed with blood. I couldn’t go home like that. I was in a bad state. Instead of running home for my life, I ran toward the mountains, a place no one could see me except the rocks and the spring water. There was a big wave of water coming down from the mountains, and I followed the water until I reached the spring. I lay in the spring and washed my face with my clothes. The water cooled the bruises, and I rested my body in the cave, looking at the blue sky and drying myself.”