A rainy night when Ammar finally lets himself cry for the grandfather he lost a year ago
Author
Hana Marfani
Author of The Things We Don’t Say, a picture book about grief and the feelings boys are taught to hide.
The book
The Things We Don't Say
Eight-year-old Ammar carries his grandfather’s cricket bat everywhere. Dada has been gone a year, and the handle is still worn to the shape of his grip.
When Ammar drops the last catch of an evening game in their Karachi lane, his cousin Hamza laughs, “Boys don’t cry!”, and a year of held-back grief rises to the surface.
Over the days that follow, Ammar, his Baba, his Dadi, Hamza and Hamza’s father each find their own way towards the feelings boys are so often taught to hide.
The Things We Don’t Say is a gentle picture book about grief, friendship, and fathers and sons, set among neem trees, sweet chai and the sea wind of Karachi.
The illustrations in this book were created with the help of AI.
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What this book is about.
A father who once said “be strong”, and is no longer sure
Dadi’s story of the “sea wind” behind Dada’s red eyes
Two cousins, a torn paratha and a quiet morning beneath the neem tree
Two fathers over cold tea, deciding to try something different
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