The Breadwinner

When Parvana gets home, Mrs. Weera is there and announces that she’s moving in this afternoon. Parvana wants to return to the market, but she’s happy to help Mrs. Weera move. Mother announces that she and Mrs. Weera are going to start a magazine and praises Parvana for her earnings. Nooria quips that Father would’ve made more but seems to immediately regret saying this. Parvana is too happy to care. After lunch, she follows Mrs. Weera through the city. Mrs. Weera still walks like a gym teacher, as though she’s going to gather up stray students. She comments that the Taliban don’t usually bother women alone with children, but she’s not concerned if the Taliban do stop them—she can outrun and outfight them, and she’ll lecture them if need be. Parvana mentions that she saw a Talib cry earlier, but Mrs. Weera doesn’t hear her.

In her basement apartment, Mrs. Weera explains that she and her granddaughter are the last of the Weeras. Everyone else died from bombs, war, or pneumonia. Parvana helps Mrs. Weera load her few items onto a loaned cart. Mrs. Weera shows Parvana a medal she managed to save. She proudly explains that she won the medal for being the fastest woman runner in Afghanistan. They finish the move quickly. Parvana, still energetic, offers to fetch water and take Maryam with her. Maryam is thrilled and Mrs. Weera insists that it’s safe now that Parvana is a boy. Unfortunately, Maryam’s sandals are too small, since she hasn’t worn them in over a year. Since the sandals are plastic, Mrs. Weera decides they’ll save them for Ali. She wraps Maryam’s feet in cloth for today; tomorrow, Parvana will buy new sandals.

Mrs. Weera warns Parvana to be careful, since Maryam’s feet will be tender. Before Mother can object, Maryam and Parvana hurry outside. Fetching water takes a long time. Maryam wants to look at everything, but she has little muscle after a year inside. Parvana helps her down the stairs and shows Maryam the tap. Maryam giggles as she washes her face and then follows Parvana back to the apartment. The next day, Parvana buys Maryam sandals and Maryam begins accompanying Parvana to the tap every afternoon. Though Parvana comes home at midday, she wishes there was a latrine in the market so she could stay out all day.

A week after she begins working, Parvana suggests that she could escort Mother and Nooria so they can get fresh air, too. Mrs. Weera insists this is a grand idea, but Nooria snaps that she doesn’t want Parvana to escort her. Mother cuts Nooria off and says that Ali needs to get out and Parvana can’t manage both children at the same time. Mother ignores Mrs. Weera’s insistence that she needs to get out too. So after this, every day after lunch, Parvana takes Nooria, Ali, and Maryam outside for an hour. Ali was only a few months old when the Taliban came, so he’s never been outside. Nooria suns her face when there’s no one around, and sometimes Nooria and Mrs. Weera wash the younger children in the tap.

Parvana makes less money than Father did, but she’s able to feed the family. The younger children seem happier and livelier, but Nooria complains that they’re harder to look after now that they’ve experienced the outdoors. Parvana hands over her earnings every day after work, and sometimes Mother accompanies Parvana to the market to shop. Parvana loves the time with Mother and she loves being in the market. She misses Father, but she gets used to his absence. One afternoon, however, she sees Father in the market. She races after him, shouting, and throws her arms around him—but looks up into a strange face. The man comforts Parvana as she cries and tells her not to give up hope.

Another afternoon, Parvana stands up to pack up and notices a small square of embroidered wool. She looks up to the black window above and wonders if it came from that apartment. Parvana decides the wind carried it to her blanket but a few days later, she discovers a beaded bracelet on her blanket. She looks up and sees that the window is open. Stepping closer, Parvana catches sight of the woman inside. The Window Woman smiles and shuts her window. A few days later, Parvana laughs as a tea boy almost collides with a donkey. Another tea boy trips and spills empty cups all over her blanket. As Parvana helps pick up the cups, she sees the boy’s face and gasps. He’s not a boy; he’s a girl from Parvana’s class.