Siham is hunched over a bowl of harira, her mother snoring under a blanket on the cushion between us, an Egyptian political talk show playing in the background. “I have an idea,” she says in her high, femine voice (well-suited to her small frame and perfect for high-pitched Berber singing). “A small idea.” “I think that everyone who travels cherche something. You understand me?” My sister and I nod encouragingly. We are facing her from the opposite segment of the couch, tucking our feet under the blanket that we share with her father. Before we can respond, she finishes her thought. “They don’t know what it is that they cherche. But it is something.” We have happened across this conversation from the topic of her marriage. Siham, who is 20 years old, will soon be married
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