Amir mentions that it would be a year before he hears Sohrab speak again. Discussing the nature of happy endings, Amir admits that he does not know how this story will end, but he does allude to a tiny miracle that took place the preceding Sunday. Then the narrative goes forward seven months to Sohrab's arrival in America: Soraya greets Amir and Sohrab at the airport, yet Sohrab says nothing to her. The General and Khala Jamila come over for dinner, and Sohrab still does not speak.
The General asks quite pointedly during dinner about why a Hazara boy is living with his daughter, and Amir tells him that the boy is his nephew, his name is Sohrab, and that the General is never to refer to him as "Hazara boy" in Amir's presence again. For the next seven months, Sohrab is silent, barely taking up any space.
Soon the Taliban is scattered, and the General is called back to serve in a ministry position. At a celebration of the Afghan New Year during the first weekend of spring, Amir purchases a kite and tells Sohrab about Hassan being the best kite runner in all of Kabul. Although Amir asks Sohrab to fly the kite with him, Sohrab does not respond. As Amir is flying it, though, Sohrab moves next to him. The yellow kite now fell and spun out of control.
I felt like the year-old Amir again when I had cut the last kite. But this was only the beginning. Hard worker. And the rest are yet to be discovered. While I was lost in thought, Sohrab had been working hard to cut other kites. I know that he can do it well. He shook his head and continued what he was doing. A couple of fast motion swings, tugging, and pulling again Sohrab cut another kite.
The kite was wheeling down. Now that I was looking up to the sky, the kites in the sky had gradually decreased. It rained kites. And kite runners are running after the rain. The runners are mostly children but to my surprise, there were some grown men chasing after it too. I could never forget the sight of a grown man stumbling and running breathlessly chasing after a kite for his son. Did I look as silly as that? I hope not. But his eyes are still beaming so brightly in this cold atmosphere.
The water vapor that came out of his nose and mouth are not steady. His hands are a shaking. Without thinking twice I hold one of his hand. Sohrab flinched.
Changed his gaze to me. And with that, Sohrab returned his gaze back up to the sky. This time, Sohrab and I are holding the string together.
In a blink of an eye, 1 kite had fallen. Then another one fell. The red kite was slowly reducing the distance. My heart had been jumping up and down now. Waiting for a one-on-one battle. Everyone are now gazing the sky. Winter Hassan by my side.
But this time, I will save him. Eventually, the red kite made their move. It hovers above us in split seconds, and they attempted to cut our string.
He nods. And then, before I could comprehend on what I had done, I saw a red kite falling. And a booming voice of people in a distance. I blink twice. Then looked down. A voice. A voice I last heard in Pakistan. A voice I last heard for what it seems like an eternity. And for the first time in what it seems like forever he spoke. My name. Like how his father called my name for the first time.
That I gave him time to heal his fresh wound. That I gave him time for peace. I wish time could just stop. When it stops, no one can see me cry. When it stops, this feeling of ecstatic will last.
The moment he pulled my hand, I came to my senses. Sohrab is pulling me. Leading the way. We jogged quite the distance. There was no one around in this particular area. Then it hit me. The strong wind made the kite fell in all kinds of places. Then I glanced to Sohrab. For a split second, I saw Hassan again. Before Farid leaves, Amir gives him an envelope of money, and then never sees him again. Amir falls asleep, and when he wakes up, Sohrab is gone.
Eventually he thinks about searching at the mosque and gets the clerk from the front desk to drive him there. When they find Sohrab outside the mosque, Amir sits down next to him, and they talk. After Amir says that Sohrab must miss his parents, Sohrab asks whether Amir misses his.
Then Sohrab admits that he is beginning to forget his father's face. Amir gives Sohrab the Polaroid photo of Hassan. Sohrab then asks Amir if he thinks God will put him in hell for hurting the bad man. Sohrab is concerned about disappointing his father.
He then says that he is full of sin because of what the Taliban men did to him. Amir asks Sohrab whether he wants to go to America with him. And a week passes before the topic is mentioned again. While talking, Amir admits to Sohrab that he and Hassan were half-brothers. Amir says Baba slept with a servant woman. Their son, Hassan, is now dead. Amir and Soraya take jobs helping to run and raise money for a hospital on the Afghan-Pakistani border, and General Taheri is summoned to Afghanistan for a ministry position.
There is a tent where people are cooking. Sohrab, who is still not speaking, stands out in the rain, but eventually the weather clears. Soraya points out kites flying in the sky. Amir finds a kite seller, and with the new kite he walks over to Sohrab. While Amir checks the string, he talks about Hassan.
Then, with the kite ready, he asks Sohrab if he wants to fly it. When Amir offers again, Sohrab takes the string.
A green kite approaches for a battle, and while Amir prepares Sohrab he notices Sohrab looks alert. Amir asks if he should run the kite for Sohrab, and Sohrab nods. The ending of the book is not exactly a happy one, and not all loose ends are tied up neatly.
It is not certain that the characters we have come to know will get what they want. It is quite the opposite, in fact, and for Sohrab in particular there are fresh wounds that will leave permanent scars.
The near endless abuse he has suffered is manifest in almost everything he does. Because of the physical and sexual abuse Assef and the Taliban inflicted on him, he flinches every time Amir reaches out to touch him. He also bathes for long periods because he feels he is literally dirty as a result of his rape. Because of this abuse, as well as the abandonment he experienced when Hassan and Farzana were murdered, he is so terrified of going back to an orphanage, even temporarily, that he tries to kill himself.
After he recovers, he says only that he wants his old life back. He stops speaking entirely, instead withdrawing into himself as if into a protective shell, completely unable to trust or open up to another person.
In the pink scars on his wrists, he is left with a permanent mark of his trauma.
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