Yes, I knew Iqbal. I think about him often. I like to. I feel I owe it to him. You see, for Iqbal I was not invisible. I existed, and he made me free. So here is his story. As I remember it. As I knew him.
-- Fatima (Chapter 1 paragraph N/A)

Importance: These words describe the impact that one person can have on another person. The reader does not yet know the details of Iqbal’s or of Fatima’s life at this point in the novel, but it is clear that they no longer see each other. It is also clear that Iqbal influenced Fatima although it is not clear if the reverse is true as well.

Of course, if I ever did manage to reach through the window or even to wriggle out, I would just find myself in the garden next door and Hussain Khan’s wife would come to get me...
-- Fatima as Narrator (Chapter 1 paragraph N/A)