Chap­ter 14: In this chap­ter, Par­vana stum­bles upon a woman who is soft­ly cry­ing in the shad­ows of a dark­ened alley, her sobs echo­ing through the qui­et night. Ini­tial­ly unsure, Par­vana cau­tious­ly calls out to her, light­ing sev­er­al match­es to illu­mi­nate the area and find the source of the dis­tress. She dis­cov­ers the woman hud­dled against the wall, her fear evi­dent, and in an act of empa­thy, Par­vana intro­duces her­self, explain­ing that she is pre­tend­ing to be a boy named Kaseem in order to sur­vive in the city. The wom­an’s silence and vul­ner­a­bil­i­ty res­onate with Par­vana, com­pelling her to invite the woman to her home, offer­ing a tem­po­rary refuge from the dan­gers of being out­side with­out a burqa, which could result in severe pun­ish­ment under the Taliban’s strict laws. This encounter high­lights the harsh real­i­ties faced by women in Kab­ul, as Par­vana risks her own safe­ty to assist some­one in need.

Once they reach Parvana’s home, the two women sit togeth­er in qui­et reflec­tion as Par­vana forms a plan to help her new friend stay safe. Par­vana, know­ing the impor­tance of blend­ing in with society’s expec­ta­tions, decides to bor­row a burqa from Mrs. Weera to con­ceal the woman’s iden­ti­ty. As they wait for night­fall, Par­vana shares a bag of dried fruit and nuts with the woman, ensur­ing she has some nour­ish­ment before they embark on their plan to leave. They qui­et­ly dis­cuss their strat­e­gy for escap­ing the oppres­sive streets of Kab­ul and blend­ing into the dark­ness of the night, far from the pry­ing eyes of the Tal­iban. In this qui­et moment, Par­vana reflects on how much Kab­ul has changed since her par­ents once spoke of the city’s bustling, vibrant past, before the Taliban’s con­trol turned it into a place of fear and oppres­sion. The streets, once full of life, now echo with silence and dan­ger, and Parvana’s sense of loss and long­ing for a time before the regime’s rise is pal­pa­ble.

The jour­ney through the dark, near­ly emp­ty streets of Kab­ul is fraught with anx­i­ety and dan­ger as Par­vana stays alert to the ever-present threat of Tal­iban patrols. As they cau­tious­ly make their way through the city, the ten­sion ris­es when they encounter a truck filled with Tal­iban sol­diers, a moment that ampli­fies Parvana’s fear and unease. The pres­ence of the sol­diers makes her acute­ly aware of how lit­tle con­trol they have over their safe­ty and the grave risks they face in sim­ply try­ing to sur­vive. After nav­i­gat­ing the tense streets, they final­ly reach Parvana’s home, where Mrs. Weera wel­comes them with warmth, though her con­cern for the woman’s lack of appro­pri­ate attire is evi­dent. Par­vana care­ful­ly explains the events of the night, empha­siz­ing how cru­cial it is to pro­tect Homa and ensure her safe­ty. Mrs. Weera lis­tens atten­tive­ly, under­stand­ing the grav­i­ty of the sit­u­a­tion but also rec­og­niz­ing the strength and courage that Par­vana has shown in help­ing a stranger in need.

The fol­low­ing day, as Homa rests and recov­ers from the trau­mat­ic ordeal of her escape, she opens up to Par­vana about the hor­rif­ic loss of her fam­i­ly. Homa shares her expe­ri­ence of flee­ing Mazar-e-Sharif, describ­ing the vio­lent actions of the Tal­iban and the dev­as­tat­ing toll it took on her fam­i­ly. Par­vana lis­tens in dis­be­lief, her heart heavy with the weight of Homa’s words. The thought of her own fam­i­ly pos­si­bly fac­ing sim­i­lar dan­gers fills Par­vana with dread, and the emo­tion­al bur­den of this new real­i­ty weighs heav­i­ly on her. Despite Mrs. Weera’s attempts to offer words of hope and solace, Par­vana retreats into her­self, over­whelmed by the grief and fear that now con­sume her. She iso­lates her­self for two days, unable to escape the crush­ing sense of loss and help­less­ness.

Just when Par­vana seems to have lost all hope, her friend Shauzia arrives to vis­it, offer­ing a much-need­ed spark of ener­gy. Shauzia encour­ages Par­vana to step out­side of her grief and re-engage with life, remind­ing her of the strength she has shown in the past. Par­vana, fueled by Shauzia’s encour­age­ment, decides to rise above her despair and begin fac­ing her respon­si­bil­i­ties once again. This renewed sense of pur­pose leads to a grow­ing bond between Par­vana and Homa, as they form a con­nec­tion born from their shared expe­ri­ences of hard­ship and sur­vival. Togeth­er, they begin to nav­i­gate the chal­lenges of Kab­ul, find­ing moments of solace in their friend­ship. In a dra­mat­ic turn of events, Par­vana returns home one after­noon to find her father alive, a sight that marks a piv­otal moment in her jour­ney. This unex­pect­ed reunion brings a surge of relief and hope, offer­ing a much-need­ed turn­ing point in the emo­tion­al tur­moil that has enveloped her life. Par­vana, with her father’s return, is remind­ed that even in the dark­est moments, there is always a pos­si­bil­i­ty for light, and the hope for a bet­ter future begins to take root.