Parvana's Journey

Parvana comes upon a tiny village mostly destroyed by bombs. This is nothing new to her. Because of the war that continued for over 20 years, “Someone was always bombing someone else” (27). Sometimes soldiers live in the abandoned village houses after bombing them, so Parvana watches the village carefully for signs of movement before approaching. As she makes her way through the rubble, looking for food and useful items, Parvana hears crying and finds a baby. The baby’s mother lies dead near the child, and Parvana takes the baby to the house with the least damage. She finds some rice and stale nan, cleans herself and the baby, and dresses him in clean clothes. She names him Hassan.

In the morning, they explore the village more and find goats to milk and chickens with fresh eggs. Parvana also finds useful supplies for their journey. Even though she’s ready to continue her journey, she is reluctant to leave. She cleans the house and contemplates what it would be like to make a home there. Just as she tries to catch a chicken to eat, she sees Taliban soldiers in the distance headed toward the village. Parvana snatches Hassan and her bundles of supplies and runs away from the village as far and fast as she can.