The Breadwinner

After breakfast the next morning, Mother sends Parvana back to the market with Father’s writing things. Parvana is excited; if she can make money, she might not have to do housework ever again. She spreads her blanket where Father always sat, next to a wall of a house. There’s a window, painted black, above her spot. She remembers how Father said that if they sit in the same spot every day, people will remember them and come to them. Today, her name is Kaseem. She’s Father’s nephew, come to help since Father is ill—saying he’s ill is safer than admitting he’s in jail. Parvana spreads her blanket and waits for customers.

No one stops for the first hour. Men walk by and look at Parvana, and she fears someone will realize she’s a girl. When someone finally stops, Parvana trembles with fear. It’s a Taliban soldier. In Pashtu, he asks if she reads letters. Parvana says she reads and writes in Dari and Pashtu. The soldier pulls something out of his pocket and sits down beside her. He hands her an old letter to read. The stamp is German and it’s addressed to Fatima Azima. The soldier says she was his wife. The writer, Fatima’s aunt, writes that she won’t be around for Fatima’s wedding, but she’s glad to be in Germany away from the fighting. She knows Fatima’s father will have chosen a good husband and wishes Fatima happiness and sons. She asks that Fatima keep the letter once Fatima and her husband return to Afghanistan.

The soldier is silent. Parvana asks if she should read the letter again, but the soldier shakes his head and takes the letter back. Parvana notices a tear in the soldier’s eye. He says that his wife is dead. He found the letter in her things and wanted to know what it said. Remembering what Father did, Parvana asks if she should write a reply. The soldier shakes his head and pays Parvana. He walks away. Parvana is confused. To her, the Taliban are just men who beat women and arrest people like Father. She wonders if they feel sorrow, too. It’s very confusing. She thinks about the soldier throughout the day.

Just before lunch, a man stops and asks the price for the red shalwar kameez. Mother didn’t tell Parvana what to ask, but Parvana remembers how Mother used to argue with vendors to get a lower price. Parvana thinks of all the hard work that her aunt put into the shalwar kameez and names a price. She and the customer haggle and finally agree on a price. It feels so good to make money that Parvana almost doesn’t regret selling it. Parvana stays for a few more hours until she realizes she has to go to the bathroom. Since there’s nowhere to safely go in the market, she packs up her things. She whispers to the sky for Father to come back and movement from the window above catches her eye. She heads home, proud of herself.