Chapter Fifteen SOK

Qassim and the militia women come to take Zunaira, but Musarrat has replaced her in her cell. Atiq is acting very nervous, and Qassim notices a person in his office. Atiq quickly answers that it is his wife, and Qassim understands because his wife wanted to go to the executions as well. He offers to take Atiq's wife for him, and Atiq does not have much of a choice. He asks to speak to her quickly. When he does, he tells Zunaira that they have agreed to free her but that she must go somewhere first. I cannot believe that Zunaira believes him. I would think that she would have noticed a woman being taken away, and surely she would be smart enough to know that the Taliban would not let anyone off the hook that easily, especially not a woman. They go to the executions, and Musarrat is executed. Her last thought is of Atiq and that he will not turn around to see her being killed. After the executions, Atiq waits for Zunaira, but she is no where to be found. He is shocked and even dreams about her being at his home waiting for him. He goes crazy, lifting women's burqas in the streets looking for Zunaira and is killed by angry husbands. I don't understand why Atiq thought Zunaira would wait for him or come with him. He did not tell her the sacrifice his wife made for her, he simply told her that she was free to go. How did he think that that meant they would spend all eternity together? I don't think that he was thinking clearly. It is really sad how he went crazy on the streets looking for Zunaira. While that is not the man he was, I think it is better that he died in the search for love than in the fulfillment of evil. I would much rather die going crazy in a search for love than die going crazy in a loveless and lifeless world. I think Atiq would have felt the same way.

Chapter Fourteen SOK

Atiq is basically going crazy because he knows Zunaira is going to be killed and he doesn't really know what he can do. Musarrat is finally starting to see how serious Atiq is about Zunaira. She realizes that this woman has completely changed who Atiq is, and she is very excited. She explains to Mohsen that this is the best thing that could have happened. I was confused at first when she said this, but then she expanded. She said that she knew they weren't made for each other, but she tried to do everything that she could have to give Atiq what he wanted. Now she sees that he needs Zunaira, and she wants to give her to him. Musarrat tells Atiq that he is one of the luckiest men in the world because he has found a cause, something to fight for. Others would be singing, and Atiq only refrains because he was never taught how to sing. She tells Atiq to switch her with Zunaira. They would never know or care because they are simply exchanging one burqa for another. Atiq refuses, but Musarrat insists because she will die in a matter of weeks anyway. I can't believe that someone would do this! She must really love him because that would be an extremely hard choice. I don't know what I would do if I were Atiq. I would want to save Zunaira, but doing that would mean killing my spouse. How can you choose between two innocent lives? Even though Musarrat will probably die soon, it is not definite. Who knows how long she will live. Atiq is having a lot of difficulty deciding, but Musarrat knows what she wants. She shows up at the jailhouse basically ensuring that Atiq will choose to switch them. She is very brave, and I am wondering what I would do in her situation...

Chapter Thirteen SOK

Atiq speaks to Zunaira, and he can't imagine that she killed a man. He implied that the man must have beaten her and that he drove her to do it. Most women would probably have agreed with this, hoping to escape their sentence, but Zunaira is not anything like most women. She actually said that she was at fault because she did not realize the good fortune she had been blessed with. I think that this was really brave of her, and I think that this shows that she may feel remorse, even though Mohsen's death was not her fault. Atiq is convinced that Zunaira was in no way responsible for Mohsen's death, and he cannot believe how injust it is that she is going to be killed because of the lack of investigation into the case. He rants on to Musarrat how she is innocent and how she did not do anything wrong. He ends up freaking out on Musarrat, and that is when I think she started to realize how serious Atiq was. Atiq returns to the jail. After much thought, he opens the door and tells Zunaira to run. He says he will not let them kill her. Zunaira replies, "We've already been killed, all of us. It happened so long ago, we've forgotten it". This really sums up what I see in Atiq. His spirit, characteristics, personality, and soul were all killed by the Taliban years ago, along with many other people in Kabul. Though they exist physically, in all other aspects they are dead. I agree with Zunaira 100% and I think her statement probably affected Atiq a lot.

Chapter Twelve SOK

Atiq is amazed that Zunaira (she was the prisoner) removed her burqa. He says that she is so beautiful. He hasn't seen any woman other than his wife's face for so long, it is almost like he doesn't know what to do with himself. I love how he described the burqa as "A hood with latticed eyeholes has come down and confiscated everything: laughs, smiles, glances, dimpled cheeks, fringed eyelashes...." It shows that not all men want women to wear burqas, but that they have been forced by the Taliban into having that opinion and viewpoint. Atiq is basically obsessed with Zunaira, and when he tells Musarrat she is overwhelmed with happiness. At first I thought this was weird. She was happy that her husband was going crazy over another woman. I don't think that happens very often. I think I understand what she was thinking now though. Recently her husband has changed. He has been becoming one of the Taliban. I think that seeing Zunaira undid all of that for Atiq, and Musarrat is extremely happy about that. If someone that I loved was turning into someone that would have made their true selves sick, I would be willing to accept anything if it meant that they were changing, if not back to who they were, at least to someone who does not believe in the Taliban and their actions. I don't think that Musarrat knows how serious Atiq is about Zunaira either.

Chapter Eleven SOK

Atiq finds out that he is getting a new prisoner. I wonder if it is Zunaira. Atiq has to wait for Qassim to arrive, and he is being very impatient. While he is waiting, he starts asking about Qaab. I don't know who Qaab is, but the other military man seems almost appalled by the fact that Atiq is asking. He tells Atiq that Qaab is dead and has been for years. Atiq keeps asking questions about it, astounded, but the military man thinks that Atiq is making fun of him. I don't understand why Atiq doesn't remember anything about Qaab. Again, it is probably symbolic of the fact that he is a different person from who he was a few years ago, but it is weird that he can't remember anything of Qaab's death when it seems everyone else knows all the details. When Qassim arrives, he talks to Atiq about how he didn't see him the other night. He invites him again, and you can tell that he is concerned about Atiq. He informs Atiq that his new prisoner killed her husband, and that she will be staying longer than the others because there is a rally coming up with some important guests and she is the only woman to be executed. That is so weird. It is like they are saying, "Oh my, some important people are coming and we have nothing to show them here, so let's kill some people for them.". It is crazy what they do here. Now I am pretty sure it is Zunaira who is the prisoner.

Chapter Ten SOK

Wow! What a chapter! Mohsen has practically gone crazy because Zunaira is still mad at him and refuses to speak to him. She makes me proud. I don't think any other woman in Kabul, or anywhere near Kabul for that matter, would dare to stand against their husband. She is definitely strong-willed, and Kabul could use some women like her to be in power. At the same time I don't think Mohsen is entirely at fault. I mean, he just wanted to go to town, and Zunaira did decide to go with him, even if it was only because she could tell he was so disappointed. I don't think Mohsen would have thought twice about staying home if he would have known what was going to happen. It is so sad that these two people who are in love, something so rare here, are being torn apart by the Taliban! Mohsen tries to win Zunaira over, but when he can't, he starts doing what all other men in Kabul do, acting like he is superior to her because he is her husband. I couldn't believe that he said that! I was understanding his point of view until he said that stuff. Zunaira tells Mohsen that she never wants to see him again, and they get in a fight. Mohsen hits Zunaira! I think this is where he truly realizes how he has changed. He is so upset about what he has done, but Zunaira will not forgive him (good for her!). When he grabs her arm, Zunaira pushes him away, he trips and ends up dying! That is not what I expected to happen. I don't know what Zunaira is going to do now. Is she going to report this and try to tell everyone that she is innocent, because no one will believe her. How is she going to cope with this? I know that she can never forgive Mohsen for what he did to her, but I don't think that she had managed to dispose of all feelings she had for him. To lose someone that you love literally in the middle of a fight would be very awkward. I don't know how I would feel...

Chapter Nine SOK

Qassim Abdul Jabbar is returning to Kabul from his native village. His mother, who was a deaf-mute, had passed away. It seems like he barely even visited. His driver mentioned that they didn't even eat anything while they were there. Qassim doesn't seem to like his village. I think he has probably become someone so different from who he used to be that he doesn't like to face his past. I mean, let's face it, if anyone could have predicted in their childhood what the Taliban could do to them, they probably would laugh. This village to me seems sort of innocent, untouched by the Taliban, and yet Qassim has still endured the change. Being there probably reminds him of who he was, and the fact that he can never be that man again. I think it is sad that he didn't even care that his mother had died. What a society...At lunch Qassim sees Atiq. He seems pretty worried about him. He asks him to join his friends to have some fun, but Atiq doesn't seem to wish to go. Atiq still seems so peculiar to me. He asks Qassim if it is obvious that he is going through a bad time, and Qassim says it is very obvious.

Mussarrat is facing the fact that she doesn't have much longer. That must be hard, especially in a society that expects so much out of you. She has been trying so hard to be what she feels she needs to be, not only for Atiq, but also for herself. I know that Atiq loves her, but I think that he needs to find a better way of expressing it. He thought Mussarrat was dead, but he made sure to go to the table to put his bag down before checking! I mean, I guess he didn't want to face the truth, but still...