CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Amir and Farid drive through Kabul, passing grim scenes of deprivation and violence before entering the Wazir Akbar Khan district, where many houses still stand. Amir finds his childhood street and Baba’s house, now shrunken and decayed, which triggers vivid memories of his youth with Hassan.

Despite Farid’s warning to forget, Amir climbs the nearby hill to the abandoned cemetery and the old pomegranate tree. He finds their faded carving, “Amir and Hassan. The Sultans of Kabul,” and mourns the lost innocence and friendship it represents.

They take a cheap hotel room near Pashtunistan Square. Over food and late-night conversation, Farid shares losses from war and questions Amir’s motives for helping a Hazara boy. Amir insists he is there for Sohrab, though Farid doubts it.

The next day, they join a crowd at Ghazi Stadium. After a dusty soccer first half, Talibs stage a public stoning of a man and woman for adultery, led by a tall Talib in white with dark sunglasses, as a cleric justifies the execution with a sermon. The brutality underscores the regime’s power and law.

Needing a lead on Sohrab, Farid approaches the Talibs. Through a quick, informal exchange, they secure a private meeting at three o’clock with the Talib in white—the same man who led the stoning—offering Amir a perilous but tangible path toward finding Sohrab.