Chapters 48-51 Summary

In Chapter 48, Tariq has migraines, but Laila is there to take care of him. They have married, and they lay together at night, telling each other about all that's happened. Aziza and Tariq have become intimate, but Zalmai is not at home—he still wants his father. Together, the family takes trips to see places around their new home in Pakistan.

In Chapter 49, Massoud is killed in an ambush by Al-Queda operatives posing as journalists. Laila thinks of her mother's hero as the man who took part in the destructive wars. Shortly after that news comes across, the World Trade Center attacks take place, and now foreign and Al Queda and Osama bin Laden are all anyone is talking about. The U.S. declares war on Afghanistan. Tariq is optimistic that war will improve conditions, but Laila has seen too...