We reached Sam in late afternoon, when pale straw dunes under a hazy sky were already scored with wind ripples, footprints, and the deep cross-hatch of jeep tires. White jeeps stood on a rise; a child ran across the sand; along a farther crest people and camels held the horizon. The three of us paused there: a grey sweatshirt, jeans, and strappy sandals; a navy salwar with a blue-and-white floral dupatta and an embro…
