How It All Goes Down
- This chapter is in the voice of Rahim Khan.
- Rahim Khan lives in Baba's house after Amir and Baba flee to America. He's lonely and, because he's getting old, is having trouble keeping up the house. Rahim Khan goes to Hazarajat (the central region of Afghanistan and home to the Hazara ethnic group) to find Hassan.
- Rahim Khan finds Hassan in Bamiyan, one of the provinces of Hazarajat.
- Rahim Khan finds out Hassan has married. His wife, Farzana, is pregnant.
- When Rahim Khan asks about Ali, Hassan looks down. Ali walked into a land mine two years ago.
- Finally, Rahim Khan asks Hassan to come back to Kabul with him to care for Baba's house. Hassan asks about Amir and learns about Baba's death.
- The next day, Hassan and Farzana agree to come back to Kabul with Rahim Khan.
- Even though there's plenty of room in the main house, Hassan and Farzana take up residence in the old servants' quarters.
- Farzana gives birth to a stillborn girl, but soon Farzana gets pregnant again.
- Sanaubar, Hassan's mother who ditched him and Ali years ago, suddenly shows up at the gate. She's a wreck – weak, covered in sores, and slashed by a knife. Hassan & co. nurse her back to health.
- Sanaubar delivers Hassan's child. Farzana, and Hassan name the child after Sohrab, Hassan's favorite character in the Shahnamah. (Remember? It's the book Amir used to read to Hassan all the time.)
- Sanaubar dies in her sleep. The fighting in Kabul intensifies.
- Hassan sounds like a terrific father. He teaches his son Sohrab how to shoot a slingshot, how to read and write, and how to run a kite.
- The chapter ends ominously: the Taliban has banned kite fighting and, in two years, they will massacre the Hazaras in Mazar-i-Sharif.