Summary

In Chapter 25, the children observe the house next door, where women are continually showing up. They assume that it is a women’s jail. Mother is interviewing new ayahs, and settles on a Punjabi woman named Hamida. The children call her Hamida, rather than Ayah. Hamida likes to massage people. One day, Imam Din’s relatives from Pir Pindo come to visit. She sees Ranna, who now has a large scar on his head. The villagers are distributed among the staff to sleep.

The narrative shifts to “Ranna’s Story,” which flashes back to tell the story of why they left Pir Pindo. In the story, the villagers wait for Dost Mohammed to give them news. He says that Sikhs have attacked Muslims in neighboring villages, and that the police are now run exclusive by the Hindus. Some of the villagers regret not...