The Clouds Are Parting

The story

A large Caucasian family is expecting a new addition – Khanu is pregnant. Bashir, the head of the family, doesn’t want any more daughters — he already has three — and tells his wife that he will throw her out if a girl is born. No matter how much Khanu prays to God, fate cannot be changed. A daughter is born. At the instigation of the fortune‑teller Aishat, Khanu’s mother, Nurzhan, switches the girl for a boy who was born at the same time to a neighbour...