Chapter 22
"Why does Allah require you to kiss the floor?" Lissette asks.
I glance over to where my thirteen year old roommate is supposed to pray before getting dressed, but as usual she has her arm thrown around the younger of the two dogs.
"We don't kiss it," I say. "We touch our forehead to the floor, to demonstrate submission to Allah."
"Daed says your god and my god are the same."
"That's what my father used to say."
Lissette's eyes narrow.
"I don't want your god to be the same as my god," she says. "Your god is mean!"
Anke, who prays dutifully beside her bed, sharply rebukes her. "Lissette! Mama told you to be respectful!"
"I'm thirteen years old," Lissette says. "Old enough to ask questions."
"It's not your faith you're questioning," Anke says, "but Eisa's. It's terribly
