In Chap­ter Twelve of “The Bread­win­ner,” Par­vana takes a brief respite from her chal­leng­ing life, seek­ing solace at home after trou­bling events at the sta­di­um. Feel­ing over­whelmed, she express­es her need for a break from the harsh real­i­ties sur­round­ing her. The ambiance in her home is tinged with anx­i­ety, espe­cial­ly as her moth­er and Mrs. Weera dis­cuss the grim events occur­ring reg­u­lar­ly at the sta­di­um, high­light­ing the oppres­sive atmos­phere they nav­i­gate.

While at home, Par­vana engages in sim­ple nur­tur­ing activ­i­ties such as teach­ing her sis­ter Maryam to count and learn­ing mend­ing tech­niques from Noo­ria. As she tries to adjust to her new life, she miss­es her father’s sto­ries but finds some enjoy­ment in Mrs. Weera’s tales of sports, which offer a sem­blance of excite­ment in gloomy times. When bread runs out, Par­vana takes the ini­tia­tive to return to work in the mar­ket, rec­og­niz­ing her respon­si­bil­i­ties towards her fam­i­ly.

In her mar­ket returns, she reunites with her friend Shauzia, who reveals her plan to escape their cir­cum­stances by sav­ing mon­ey to flee to France. Shauzia shares her deter­mi­na­tion to remain in her boy guise until she can safe­ly leave, fear­ing that if she grows too much, she will have to assume her female iden­ti­ty again, which would con­fine her to her home life.

Their con­ver­sa­tion reveals deep-seat­ed desires for free­dom and a child­hood unbur­dened by the harsh real­i­ties of war. Shauzia fan­ta­sizes about thriv­ing in France, inspired by images of a vibrant life away from their oppres­sive envi­ron­ment. Par­vana grap­ples with her con­flict­ing feel­ings about leav­ing her fam­i­ly behind, under­stand­ing the risks but simul­ta­ne­ous­ly yearn­ing for a return to nor­mal­cy.

As they return to work, Par­vana’s dis­sat­is­fac­tion with life in Kab­ul becomes pal­pa­ble. She observes the strug­gles of those around her, feel­ing fatigue in fac­ing the dai­ly hard­ships. Yet, she finds joy in small moments, like the arrival of sum­mer fruit in the mar­ket and the ini­ti­a­tion of a secret school for girls, where her sis­ter Noo­ria teach­es. Even so, the ongo­ing tumult in their lives remains fore­front in her thoughts, cul­mi­nat­ing in the unex­pect­ed news of Noo­ri­a’s impend­ing mar­riage.