Summary

In Chapter 25, Amir watches the workers cleaning up the refugee boat wreckage from his perch in the lighthouse. He touches his locket and thinks of his mother, recalling “every time he wished ill on her for hitching their future to a man who was family yet not, for abandoning their home” (207).

The children see Kethros’ truck heading for them and make a run for it. A young soldier catches them hiding in a bush. Instead of arresting them, he lets them go.

When the soldiers reconvene, Kethros recognizes that Nicholas is lying when he says he didn’t see anything. Kethros sees it “in his eyes, the way they dart around like the eyes of a stalked deer.” (212).

Kethros rips the patch from his uniform. “‘It’s alright, son, it’s all right,’ the colonel says. ‘Just imagine how little would get done...