- Right after breakfast, Parvana heads back to the marketplace—this time, she takes her father's things with her and Mother encourages her to "just do what he did" (7.2) for money.
- Mother reminds Parvana that she is Kaseem now, her father's nephew who is visiting while Father is ill—let's keep the arrest on the down-low.
- Sounds good. Parvana enjoys the feeling of the sun on her face and the fresh air.
- She sets up camp where her father always did because it's good business to do so; the spot is right next to a wall and there is window overhead—covered in black of course.
- So Parvana arranges the blanket, the paper, and pens and waits for someone to ask her to read for them.
- Although she wonders if anyone will ask an eleven-year-old to read, Mother reminds her she has more education that most.
- Parvana sits waiting for about an hour, and is scared silly that someone will notice that she's a girl.
- Finally she gets a customer. Yikes, though—it's a member of the Taliban and he's carrying a rifle.
- Speaking Pashtu, he asks Parvana if she's a letter-reader.
- Responding in the same language, she says she is, and is terrified when he reaches in his vest pocket. Luckily, though, he pulls out a letter instead of a gun. Phew.
- The Talib sits on the blanket while Parvana reads him the letter, which is addressed to his wife, Fatima Azima, and written to her by her aunt, Sohila.
- In the letter, the aunt apologizes for not attending their wedding, but she's still in Germany, staying away from the fighting.
- She is sure Azima's father has arranged for a nice man to marry her, and though this whole arranged-marriage thing might seem weird at first, she should hang in there.
- Sohila is quite sure they will never see each other again, so she wants Azima to keep this letter as a reminder—and then Parvana notices a tear fall from the Talib's eye as he explains his wife died. She offers to read the letter again or write a reply, but he says no.
- When he asks Parvana what he owes her, she replies the same way Father always did: "Pay whatever you like" (7.36).
- The Talib gives her money and then walks away; Parvana feels relieved.
- Interestingly, she now sees the Taliban soldiers in a different light—while they may be women-beaters and kidnappers, they still have feelings like other human beings.
- She reads for someone else, but keeps thinking about the man and his dead wife.
- Then a man stops and asks her how much she wants for her shalwar kameez.
- She remembers Mother telling her how to bargain: start out high. This shouldn't be too hard since Parvana really doesn't want to sell it anyway.
- After dickering over the price, Parvana makes the sale; stuffing money into her pockets lessons the regret of giving up her favorite outfit.
- It's time for a potty break, but with nowhere safe to go in the marketplace, Parvana decides to head home.
- She methodically packs up, just like Father taught her. She really misses him.
- Looking up at the sky, she whispers, "Father, come back to us" (7.47)—it's just not fair that the sun is shining with Father in jail.
- But wait… What is that? Parvana thinks she sees something in the blacked out window overhead, thought that seems impossible and doesn't make any sense. The whole point of blacking the windows out, after all, is to make sure no one can see inside.
- Oh well. Feeling pretty good about herself, Parvana heads home.