In this chap­ter of “The Bread­win­ner,” Par­vana expe­ri­ences a pro­found emo­tion­al reunion with her father, who has returned home after being released from prison. She rec­og­nizes him despite his changed appearance—his white shal­war kameez now tat­tered and his face pale. Par­vana’s ini­tial reac­tion is one of over­whelm­ing joy, as she clings to him tight­ly. The men who brought her father home inform Mrs. Weera that he was found out­side the prison, unable to move on his own, and thank them for their efforts.

Days pass as Par­vana helps care for her father, whose health has dete­ri­o­rat­ed due to mis­treat­ment in prison. Mrs. Weer­a’s nur­tur­ing becomes essen­tial, facil­i­tat­ing his grad­ual recov­ery. Par­vana is relieved that her father can final­ly take notice of her new appear­ance and acknowl­edges her dual role as both daugh­ter and son. She man­ages their mod­est liveli­hood by work­ing and brings him food while also assist­ing Mrs. Weera.

Parvana’s friend Homa learns some Eng­lish at school and engages with Father, cre­at­ing moments of laugh­ter that con­trast with the bleak­ness sur­round­ing them. Par­vana feels a flick­er of hope for a reuni­fied fam­i­ly. How­ev­er, the under­ly­ing ten­sion esca­lates as her friend Shauzia reveals her fam­i­ly’s plans to mar­ry her off, ignit­ing Par­vana’s dread of los­ing anoth­er close com­pan­ion.

The chap­ter high­lights Par­vana’s deter­mi­na­tion to recon­nect with her moth­er and sib­lings in Mazar, spurred by news of refugees. Dis­cussing logis­tics with her father, they resolve to seek out their fam­i­ly, even if it means uncer­tain trav­el giv­en her father’s weak­ened con­di­tion. The nar­ra­tive is steeped in melan­choly and resilience, as Par­vana takes on respon­si­bil­i­ties while nur­tur­ing dreams of a brighter future.

In prepa­ra­tion for their jour­ney, Par­vana attempts to leave a piece of her­self behind in the mar­ket to hon­or “the Win­dow Woman”—a sym­bol of their shared human­i­ty amidst despair. As she plants wild­flow­ers, an elder­ly man assists her, empha­siz­ing the val­ue of beau­ty in their harsh real­i­ty.

As the chap­ter clos­es, unex­pect­ed farewells occur when Shauzia shares her plans to leave for Pak­istan, and they dream of a reunion in Paris twen­ty years lat­er. Parvana’s mixed feelings—of hope and uncertainty—perfectly encap­su­late her jour­ney towards under­stand­ing her agency and the unknown that lies ahead. With her father by her side, she embarks on a new chap­ter of her life, ready to face the future.