And the Mountains Echoed

The chapter begins, “Father had never before hit Abdullah.” Father—as of yet, he has no other name—hits Abdullah hard, and because he’s doing so for the first time, Abdullah is doubly hurt: he experiences the physical pain of the blow, as well as the sting of surprise. Father hits Abdullah many times, then tells him to “go home.” Father has a pained expression, as if the beating was as horrible for him as it was for Abdullah.

Pari, Abdullah’s sister, calls out “Abollah,” her affectionate name for Abdullah. Together, Father and Pari climb into a wagon and begin riding away from their home, leaving Abdullah behind. Abdullah tries to follow the wagon, but Father throws stones at him to keep him from pursuing any further.

Refusing to give up, Abdullah keeps running after the wagon carrying his father and sister. Eventually, he succeeds in catching up to them. Father turns around and tells his son, with grudging respect, “You won’t give up.” Nevertheless, he tells Abdullah go to home to be with his mother, and with Iqbal. Privately, Abdullah thinks that “his mother” is dead—the woman Abdullah is referring to is actually Father’s wife, his stepmother. Abdullah looks into Father’s eyes, and reluctantly Father agrees to allow Abdullah to ride along with them.

Abdullah, Pari, and Father ride along in their wagon—their destination isn’t clear. They travel through a vast desert, full of cliffs and rocks. As they travel, Abdullah sees a tiny feather floating through the air. It may have come from a dove, or a falcon. Pari snatches the feather from the air as it drifts to the ground. She keeps a collection of rare feathers: peacocks, hawks, sparrows, etc. The peacock feather was a gift from Abdullah: he traded his shoe for the gift, and had to walk many miles afterwards, bloodying his foot.

Abdullah turns to thinking about his stepmother, Parwana. She is a kind, wise woman, but he can’t force himself to love her. Abdullah’s own mother died while giving birth to Pari. Iqbal, Abdullah’s half brother, is the son of Parwana and Father—he is one year old. Sometimes, Parwana hits Abdullah, but she’s also kind and tender with him at times. She teaches Abdullah and Pari how to cook and make dolls and toys out of cornhusks. Nevertheless, Abdullah recognizes that Parwana has far more love and compassion for Iqbal, her biological son.

As the three ride in their wagon, Abdullah sees a group of Kuchi nomads (an Afghani tribe that specializes in herding). One of the nomads reminds Abdullah of his late mother, especially her hair. He remembers his mother as a person of boundless joy and goodness. His sister, Pari, has some of the same goodness in her, Abdullah believes. Sometimes, Pari seems to be the only true family he has.

Pari asks Abdullah if their dog, Shuja, will be all right back at their home. Abdullah assures Pari that Shuja will be fine—he can take care of himself. Pari then asks Abdullah if, when she grows up, they can live together. Abdullah says that they can, but adds that one day, Pari won’t want to. Pari insists that she will. Pari asks Abdullah to promise her that they’ll be close when they grow up. Abdullah promises.

It is revealed that the children’s “Uncle Nabi” has found a job for Father—the job that Father, Abdullah, and Pari are riding out to perform. Uncle Nabi is actually Abdullah’ step-uncle, Parwana’s elder brother. The job, which will take a month to complete, involves building an extension for the house of a wealthy family. Abdullah is familiar with the sight of his father working: Father works hard lifting bowls of cement, moving dirt and straw, etc. As Abdullah thinks of all this, he remembers his other half-brother, whose name was Omar. Omar, the son of Father and Parwana, died of the cold recently, and Father blames himself for Omar’s death. Abdullah realizes that he can’t picture his Father as a young man—it’s as if he’s always had a shovel in his hands.

Night falls, and Father, Abdullah, and Pari eat dinner together in the middle of the desert. As they do so, Abdullah remembers “Omar’s labored cries.” Cautiously, Abdullah asks his Father to allow him to help build the family’s guesthouse. Father says that he’ll be allowed to fix mortar. He adds that Pari will be in charge of water—people can’t work if they’re thirsty. Abdullah remembers raising Pari, his younger sister, starting when he was only ten years old. He was with her when she took her first steps, and when she spoke her first word.

As it gets later, Pari and Abdullah ask their Father to tell them a story. Sometimes, Abdullah notes, Father enjoys telling them stories, but often he’s too quiet and closed-off to oblige. Tonight, for instance, he refuses, and tells his children to go to sleep—they have a long day tomorrow. As Pari and Abdullah fall asleep, Abdullah sings a song to Pari. The song is about a “sad little fairy / who was blown away by the wind one night.” Abdullah likes this song, in part because Pari means “fairy” in Farsi.

Abdullah wakes up in the middle of the night, and sees that his Father is gone. He wonders, frantically, if his father has been kidnapped or killed by bandits or nomads. Then, suddenly, he hears footsteps—it is his Father, returning from a short walk. Abdullah tells his Father that he thought he’d been killed, adding that he knows Father would never leave his family voluntarily. Father tells Abdullah to go to sleep.

The next morning the three proceed on their journey. The construction site is in the city of Kabul. Abdullah has never been there before , but he has heard about it from Uncle Nabi. When Abdullah first sees the city, it’s far louder and more energetic than anything he could have imagined: there are lights, tall buildings, big crowds, and movie theaters. Abdullah hopes that Uncle Nabi will take him to see a film soon.

Father leads his children through Kabul, to a building where Uncle Nabi has been waiting for them. Nabi embraces Abdullah and Pari warmly, and leads them to his car. He drives the family through the streets, pointing out the buildings and establishments. Eventually, he arrives at the construction site where Father will be working: the luxurious house of his employers. Nabi warns everyone to be on their best behavior around the owners of the property.

Nabi leads everyone inside the house. Abdullah is immediately struck by the beautiful indoor garden, white pillars, veranda, and indoor plumbing. Nabi leads Abdullah to his boss, Mr. Wahdati. Mr. Wahdati wears a beautiful, expensive suit, and offers Pari and Abdullah cookies, which they both eagerly accept. This charms Mr. Wahdati’s wife, Mrs. Wahdati, who is sitting in the living room. Abdullah looks around the living room, and notices old photographs of Mrs. Wahdati being married to a man who, much to Abdullah’s surprise, is not Mr. Wahdati. This reminds Abdullah that he has met Mrs. Wahdati before. When Abdullah was about eight years old, Mrs. Wahdati had come to Shadbagh—the town where Abdullah lives—because she claimed to want to meet Nabi’s family. Although Abdullah was young at the time, he noticed that Mrs. Wahdati made a great show of seeming to care about Nabi’s house and life—a show which nobody, even Abdullah, found very convincing.

In the Wahdati house, Mrs. Wahdati asks Father if he’s been to Kabul before. She addresses him as Saboor. Saboor says that he has been a few times before, and he always finds the city very crowded. Mrs. Wahdati goes on to say that while she’s “progressive” in her thinking, she’s always had a fondness for the Afghani countryside—the “real” Afghanistan. Addressing her husband as Suleiman, she points out that people in small towns live more “authentic” lives and have more pride in themselves. Suleiman seems to find this irritating, and he tells her to be quiet, calling her Nila. Nila offers to take Pari and Abdullah to the local bazaar while Father proceeds with his work.

Nabi drives Pari, Mrs. Wahdati, and Abdullah to the bazaar. As they drive, Abdullah sees schoolchildren, about his age, wearing black uniforms and walking through the streets. Mrs. Wahdati arrives at the bazaar, which is a huge, lavish spectacle, full of merchants selling jewelry. Mrs. Wahdati shops for earrings and other trinkets. She also buys Abdullah a pair of sneakers. She notices that Abdullah is looking at her oddly, and suggests that he thinks she’s a bad person. Abdullah denies this. Though it’s unclear why, Abdullah begins to cry. This distresses Mrs. Wahdati, and she begs him to stop, telling him that “it” is for the best.

The narrative cuts ahead to the winter of 1952, when Father is busy cutting down an oak tree that grows near his home. Abdullah helps his father move the trunk of the tree. As he works, he notices a small yellow feather, a wonderful gift for Pari, and picks it up. Abdullah thinks about the party he’ll be attending in the evening: it’s being hosted in honor of Baitullah, a local man whose wife has just given birth to a baby boy. Suddenly, Abdullah’s thoughts turn to Pari. It’s revealed that Pari has not lived in the village for months. Nobody talks about her or mentions her name. Abdullah thinks about the story Father told them before their trip—the story about the farmer who sacrifices his favorite child to the div.

Abdullah returns to his home, carrying the yellow feather. He finds Pari’s collection of feathers, and adds the new one to it. Though it’s not revealed exactly what’s happened to Pari, Abdullah resolves to leave his hometown of Shadbagh one day, and to find Pari, wherever she might be.