As Amir and Farid were driving to the Wazir Akbar Khan District, they passed by the Khyber Restaurant. Baba always took Amir there for kabob. The building was still there but the windows were shattered and couple of the letters were missing. Near the restaurant, Amir saw a dead body and a man hanging from a rope. No one seemed to notice him. Then Farid pointed out two men, one with one leg and the other man's leg was amputated below the knee. Those men were selling their legs. Farid said they could get good money from it. And it can feed people's kids for couple of weeks. Amir was surprised that the district was in good shape, many people moved there including the Taliban. Amir pointed out his house when he used to live there with Baba, Ali, and Hassan. As he walked up to the house, Amir felt like a stranger. He then started to remember all the memories he had at the house when he was a child. He saw that most of the trees that Hassan and him would climb were chopped down, but The Wall of Ailing Corn was still there. The house itself was not like it was before. The grass was now brown with patches of dirt, the plaster was cracked, the roof sagged, and the rosebushes that Ali and Baba planted were gone. He ran up the hilltop where he and Hassan would chase each other. He sat near the pomegranate tree and looked at the trunk. He saw the carving that they made when they were little. It was still there, it said "Amir and Hassan. The Sultans of Kabul."
They reached the Ghazi Stadium after spending a night at a hotel. As they walked in, it was crowded with people and children playing. This is the place where people come to see other people get tortured by the Talibs. A women and man were put into a hole and had a stone repeatedly hit on their head. After they finished they kicked dirt around to cover up the blood from the dead bodies that were thrown into a truck.
Farid left Amir, so Amir can go get Sohrab back from the man. As he arrived, he tried not to be a coward, he knew he had to do this for Hassan. A tall man, wearing white, and sunglasses walked to greet Amir. Amir told him that he was here for the boy, so he brought him out. Sohrab came out and Amir noticed he had his dad's ears and moon shaped face. The boy had mascara on his eyes and had red blush on his cheeks. As he stopped walking towards them, the bells strapped around his ankles stopped jingling. One of the guards played music and made the boy dance for them. Then when the man started talking, he realized it was Assef. He asked again why Amir was here, and he said for the boy. He told him he has to earn him.
When they were younger, Hassan said he was going to make Assef "One eyed Assef," after he would use a slingshot to hit his eye. Assef backed down that time but told them that in the end he was going to get back at them both. Assef took Amir into a room and told the guards not to interrupt. They were going to fight, and who ever gets out alive takes the boy. They fought and fought, Amir's teeth broke, his ribs broke, everything in him was broken. Blood everywhere. Amir believed he deserved what was happening to him because of all the times he did not stand up for Hassan. Such as the time Amir kept throwing pomegranates at Hassan's head, and Hassan did not retaliate. Sohrab came in with his slingshot and told Assef to let go of Amir's neck. He did not listen, so Sohrab hit the rock with the slingshot into Assef's eye. Even though Amir was in bad condition, Sohrab helped him, and they both walked out.
These pages were especially sad to read. Yes, couple tears dropped from my eyes during the part Amir was getting beaten up. Also, the part when they described Sohrab as having make-up on and the fact that he had to dance for Assef. I am actually proud of Amir, he was not a coward. He was scared, but he knew he was doing the right thing. Sohrab was Hassan's son and they were family. He could not leave a part of Hassan behind.
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