* Laila and Tariq got married the day she moved to Pakistan with him.
* "So much had happened since those childhood days, so much needed to be said. But that first night the enormity of it all stole the words from her. That night, it was blessing enough to be beside him. It was blessing enough to know that he was here, to feel the warmth of him next to her, to lie with him, their heads touching, his right hand laced in her left." (377)
- Love is what matters, and for once she is happy to go to bed and fall asleep next to a man. She has finally found the contentment and happiness that she has always dreamed about, with the man that she has always loved.
* Laila is much happier in Murree. Her life is easier, and she likes the city better. Laila is extremely grateful for her change in fortune.
- "Sometimes, as Laila watches Tariq sleep, as her children mutter and stir in their own sleep, a great big lump of gratitude catches in her throat, makes her eyes water." (377)
- "Laila is happier here in Murree. But it is not an easy happiness. It is not a happiness without cost." (380)
* Zalmai is extremely upset and misses his father. He treats Tariq poorly, but Tariq is understanding and kind. Laila continues to tell Zalmai that his father has gone on a trip, and that she doesn't know when he will return. Although the lie is technically for the benefit of Zalmai because he is not yet ready for the truth, she hates lying to him.
* Tariq treats Laila and her children much better than Rashid ever did. He plays an active role in the lives of all of them, not discriminating based on gender. They go on outings together as a family. For once, they all truly have a family.
* Laila is still devestated by the absence/death of Mariam, and she has dreams about her.
* 9/11 comes, and Laila and Tariq watch the television screen as the twin towers fall after the planes have crashed into them. The Taliban refuse to relinquish Bin Laden because he is a "guest" in their country, and their code of ethics does not allow them to turn guests over in case of persecution.
- George Bush declares war on Afghanistan. Yet another war in the country, causing more instability, more suffering and more deaths of innocents.
- Despite the negative things that war brings on a country, again, some hope emerges again.
* "For Laila, being with Tariq is worth weathering these apprehensions. When they make love, Laila feels anchored, she feels sheltered. Her anxieties, that their life together is a temporary blessing, that soon it will come loose again in strips and tatters, are allayed. Her fears of separation vanish." (385)
- This is a much different feeling than she had with Rasheed. If she felt anything at all with him, it was disgust and tension. Her life with Tariq is so much different. However, her past had made her fear that her happiness will not last.
* Laila wants to move back to Kabul and help in the rebuilding the country. She keeps thinking about how her father told her she could do anything that she wants, and that how after the war is over, her country is going to need her.
- "But it isn't mere homesickness or nostalgia that has Laila thinking of Kabul so much these days. She has become plagued by restlessness. She hears of schools built in Kabul, roads repaved, women returning to work, and her life here, pleasant as it is, grateful as she is for it, seems...insufficient to her. Inconsequential. Worse yet, wasteful." (389)
- She feels obligated to go back for her parents and for Mariam.
* Parting with Pakistan is difficult, especially for the children who are scared, but Laila is happy to return home.
* On their way back to Kabul, the family stops in Herat to visit Mariam's old home (the kolba that she grew up in).
- Sitting in the kolba, memories of Mariam flood Laila's mind. She thinks about what it was like to live there, and how it must of been for Mariam.
- "In a few years, this little girl will be a woman who will make small demands on life, who will never burden others, who will never let on that she too has had sorrows, disappointments, dreams that have been ridiculed. A woman who will be like a rock in a riverbed, enduring without complaint, her grace not sullied but shaped by the turbulence that washes over her." (401) --> description of Mariam <--
- This gesture is a last farewell to Mariam from Laila
* "Every Afghan story is marked by death and loss and unimaginable grief. And yet, she sees, people find a way to survive, to go on. Laila thinks of her own life and all that has happened to her, and she is astonished that she too has survived, that she is alive and sitting in this taxi listening to this man's story." (395)
- It's amazing what one can go through and survive.
* Laila is given a little box that had been given to a friend by Jalil to save for Mariam if she were to ever return. In it is an envelope, a burlap sack, and a videocassette. The movie is a copy of Pinocchio, the film he had promised to take Mariam to the day she came to his house. The letter is basically an apology for the way he behaved. Jalil expresses remorse, and begs for her forgiveness. He has also put her inheritance in the burlap sack.
* Note: it is now April 2003
* The drought has ended and the family has moved back to Kabul. The city is alive again, and the children attend school while Tariq works. Laila now works at the orphanage with Zaman as a teacher. It is being restored and school is back in session there.
* Laila is pregnant again with Tariq's child. It has been decided that if it is a girl, they will name her Mariam.
Overview/Observations:
This last section, and last of the three parts of the novel, has much happier undertones. It is the first section of hope and happiness. The lives of Laila and her children are completely transformed. They go from living a life of fear and hardship, to a relatively easy life complete with leisure and safety. Aziza loves Tariq from the beginning, and and thought it takes him time to warm up to him, Zalmai becomes close to Tariq as well. Laila has never been so happy, especially after their return to Kabul after things have settled down again. She finally is able to contribute to society outside of the home, she is married to the man that she has always loved, and she lives in a nice home. Despite such fortune, Laila cannot help but think about her parents and Mariam. Going to the kolba in which Mariam grew up is a cathartic experience for her, and it gives her a feeling of closure. However, she still feels sadness at the loss of all those close to her. Laila has grown up and matured significantly since she was first introduced in the novel. All of the tragedy that she has witnessed and experienced has not broken her apart, and she remains a strong and caring woman. She is extremely grateful for her fortune and acknowledges that all of her past experiences have molded the person she has become.
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