- Mother worries because Parvana comes home wet and having missed lunch.
- Parvana says she was working, but Mother says that they were "terrified" that she had been arrested (11.4), which, in Mother's defense, is a totally legit concern.
- Parvana breaks down in tears, clutching her Mother's neck, and then she lets the cat out of the bag and tells her they were digging up graves.
- Mother is disgusted. The family has sunk to a new level, and now they're digging up their ancestors.
- Always the voice of reason, Mrs. Weera chimes in to explain the use of bones—chicken food, oil, buttons—so though it's kind of nasty work, it leads toward useful things.
- Parvana shows everyone how much money she made, but Mother still thinks digging up bones is a bad idea, and tells Parvana to go back to reading letters.
- But Parvana tells her mother no, and—for once—Nooria has her back.
- The girls explain that they aren't making enough money, and that while it's great they have nan and tea these days, they still need money for rent and propane.
- Parvana is shocked and happy to see her sister taking her side for once.
- Mother says she is glad Father isn't here to see his disrespectful daughters in action, but Mrs. Weera points out that it's for exactly this reason—Father isn't here—that they may need to try "unusual" (11.26) ways to make ends meet.
- Yup—digging up dead bodies is definitely unusual.
- Mother gives in, so long as Parvana tells her everything; she will write about it in the magazine.
- So Parvana continues bone-digging, and though Mother packs her nan for lunch, her new line of work doesn't exactly leave Parvana with a thriving appetite, so she gives her food to some beggars instead.
- After two weeks, the girls earn enough money to buy the trays with neck straps; they decide to keep their load light by selling just cigarettes and gum.
- One day after letter-reading, Parvana gets hit on the head again with a gift. The lady in the window is a great shot.
- This time she throws down a single red wooden bead.
- Nooria and the kids join Parvana in the market again, and Nooria is noticeably more pleasant. That's interesting…
- Or maybe it's Parvana who has changed—fighting with her sister just doesn't "make sense anymore" (11.37).
- In the afternoon, Parvana meets up with Shauzia to try to sell their stuff.
- Noticing a soccer game, and thinking the fans will make great customers, the girls dodge Taliban soldiers to sneak their way into the stadium and head to the bleachers.
- Something is off, though—the crowd is really quiet and no one is smiling. Then the girls sees Taliban soldiers take the field, dragging men with them who have their hands tied behind their backs.
- Yikes. Shauzia and Parvana are really frightened.
- Shauzia realizes the men are prisoners and they are stretched on a table; clueless though, Parvana is still looking for the soccer players.
- Suddenly a soldier cuts off a man's arm, and blood flies everywhere as he screams in pain. Parvana has officially stopped looking for soccer players.
- Shauzia screams and Parvana covers her mouth; the girls leave the stands and head to the stadium floor.
- The gum and cigarettes fall off their trays, but men pick them up and return them to the girls.
- The soldiers yell that they are punishing thieves as the girls hear "the sword thwack down on six more arms" (11.60).
- Finally the blood bath is over and a nice man shows the girls the way out. (What is up with so many people being nice to them in the midst of such a horrible scene?)
- Parvana take one last look and sees a very young man holding up the four severed hands on a rope.
- The nice man tells the girls to "Go home and remember better things" (11.65). Yeah, dude—that's definitely going to be the goal.