- The woman's sounds are "too soft and too sad" (14.1) to scare Parvana, so instead she tries to find her in the dark building, using matches on her tray to light a path to where the woman is huddled and crying.
- Parvana tells the woman her secret—that her name is Kaseem, but really it's Parvana—and then, since it's getting late, she asks the woman to come home with her. And then she notices that the woman's face isn't covered by a burqa.
- Parvana offers to run home to borrow one of Mrs. Weera's burqas, but the woman grabs her arm, and suggests that she just eat some dried fruit and nuts instead.
- Parvana convinces the woman to sneak to her apartment once it is dark out.
- When it is dark in Kabul, it is truly dark. The city has been "under curfew"(14.23) for more than twenty years, and the street lights have been knocked out by bombs.
- Time for another flashback: Father and Mother used to tell stories about Kabul being the "city of lights" at night, where they would shop and eat ice cream (14.24). Not anymore, though—not in the slightest.
- Parvana pretends to be Malali leading troops through enemy territory as she leads the woman through Kabul's streets.
- Remembering the hand-chopping incident, she wonders what the Taliban would do if they caught her out after curfew and with a woman who isn't wearing a burqa. Now seems like a good time to cross our fingers in hopes that Parvana never finds out…
- It isn't easy, but Parvana gets the woman to her house safely. Phew.
- Mrs. Weera, relieved, greets them at the door—instantly, she notices the woman isn't wearing a burqa.
- Parvana explains, "I think she's in trouble" (14.31).
- Mrs. Weera to the rescue (it's kind of her thing, in case you hadn't noticed); she gives the woman a bath, clean clothes, and a cup of tea.
- The girl tells them her story.
- Her name is Homa and she escaped the Taliban that took over her city of Mazar.
- Hold up… Mazar? That's exactly where Nooria and the rest of Parvana's family are headed. Uh-oh.
- The Taliban are in Mazar all right, explains Homa—she knows because they killed her parents and brother while she hid in a closet.
- Dead bodies were all over the place, but she managed to find safety by hiding in a truck, which took her to Kabul.
- She feels awful for leaving her family's bodies in the street "for the dogs to eat" (14.46), which sounds like a totally awful thing to have to do.
- All that Parvana can think about now is her own family running into the Taliban.
- Mrs. Weera says not to give up hope because Mother and Nooria can handle themselves, but this is all too much for Parvana to handle and she curls up on the toshak for two days.
- Shauzia surprises them with a visit, and just in time too, since Parvana isn't falling for one of Mrs. Weera's motivational half-time speeches—but when Shauzia tells Parvana she misses her and asks her to come back to the market, Parvana can't refuse.
- So back to work she goes, trudging through the days that seem like a "nightmare" (14.59).
- But one day after work, there is a glimmer of hope—she sees her father, escorted by two men, walking up the steps to their apartment.