I became what I am today, at the age of 12, on a frigid（寒冷的） overcast（ 阴天的） day in the winter of 1975. I remember the precise（精确的） moment, crouching（蜷缩） behind a crumbling（弄碎） mud（软泥） wall, peeking into the alley near the frozen（冻结的） creek（小溪）. That was a long time ago. But it's wrong what they say about the past, I've learned, about how you can bury（埋葬） it. Because the past claws its way out. Looking back now, I realize I have been peeking into that deserted alley for the last 26 years.

  One day last summer, my friend Rahim Khan called from Pakistan（巴基斯坦(南亚国家)）. He asked me to come see him.