“The sheep start bleating. Their bells sing in the night, and the tall grass rustles under light steps. A bucket splashes: someone has milked a sheep and is bringing the milk toward the hut. Distant whispers. Dancing shadows. A cold hand rests upon Ali’s shoulder.
“ ‘Come, my child. Come, Sunshine. Let’s go inside. The baby is hungry.’ ”
•
“And so this story ends. Many have told it before and many have sung about it. It is in the air and in the water, in the valleys and in the steep hills. And up in the Mountain you can still hear that lulling — the voice of a woman, soothing her children in times of despair, in times of darkness.”
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I must thank, in somewhat chronological order, the following people, without whom neither this book nor its author would have been possible:
Agop Melkonian, who read my first stories, saw something in them and from then on treated me not as the sixteen-year-old geek I was but as his equal, a writer. I wish he could see this book.
My English-language teachers at the First English Language School in Sofia: Mrs. Yordanova, Mrs. Stoeva, Mrs. Vasseva. And Ms. Boyadjieva, who, during our first lesson, asked me to form a sentence in English: “The apple is on the table.” But she could have asked me to compose a sestina and I might have done a better job.
Mrs. Marie Lavallard and the Foundation for the International Exchange of Students at the University of Arkansas, without whose support I could have never afforded to study in the United States.
Ellen Gilchrist, who has always been a champion of me and my writing and who first taught me that “writing is rewriting.” My first creative writing teachers: Adam Prince and Mary Morrissy. Chuck Argo, without whom I might never have thought of writing about Bulgaria. John DuVal, whose friendship and wisdom helped me through difficult times. Davis McCombs, for his kindness. Molly Giles, for her generosity and editorial honesty. Donald “Skip” Hays, who taught me much about story, structure, character, and served as a minister at my wedding. His wife, Patty, who so generously hosted the ceremony. Kathleen and Collin Condray, Beth and Peter Horton, for their hospitality. Dr. Slattery, who never made me teach a morning class! My psychology professors Dr. Lohr and Dr. Freund. My old boss Mike Williams.
My dear friends in Arkansas who, lucky me, are too many to thank individually. My friends and colleagues in Denton, for all their support. My Bulgarian friends who stuck by me across continents and years: Botzata, Boyan and his family, Ivcho, Oto, Traycho and Tsveti.
My agent, Sorche Fairbank, who believed in the stories from the very beginning, for her friendship, editorial help and encouragement.
The editor of this book, Courtney Hodell, who saw promise in the stories before they were ready, and did not tire until they were; who taught me much about writing, and, as a side effect, tormented me greatly. You have my deepest gratitude.
Mark Krotov, who was always ready to help. Marion Duvert, Amanda Schoonmaker, Wah-Ming Chang, David Chesanow, Michelle Crehan, Jonathan Lippincott, Jennifer Carrow, Debra Helfand, Brian Gittis, Hanna Oswald and everyone else at FSG who worked so hard to make this book possible.
Brett Lott, Donna Perrault and the staff of The Southern Review. Paula Morris, Sabina Murray, Heidi Pitlor, Salman Rushdie, Andrew Blechman, Hannah Tinti. The Walton Family and the Lily Peter Foundations at the University of Arkansas and Bob and Louise Garnett for their support of my writing.
My wife, for all her love and encouragement.
My family back home, but especially my grandmas and grandpas. My parents. 
My dear Bulgaria, who I return to, always, in my thoughts. And forgive me, beautiful Bulgarian language, for telling stories in a foreign tongue, a tongue that is now sweet and close to me.
Thank you, kind reader, for reading.
A NOTE ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Miroslav Penkov was born in 1982 in Bulgaria. He arrived in America in 2001 and completed a bachelor’s degree in psychology and an MFA in creative writing at the University of Arkansas. He has won the Eudora Welty Prize in Fiction, and his story “Buying Lenin” was published in The Best American Short Stories 2008, edited by Salman Rushdie. He teaches creative writing at the University of North Texas, where he is a fiction editor for American Literary Review.