How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
"I thought you were my father," she said, tears falling down her face.
The man put his hand on her shoulder. "You seem like a fine boy. I'm sorry I am not your father." He paused, then said in a lower voice, "Your father is in prison?" Parvana nodded.
"People are released from prison sometimes. Don't give up hope." The man went on his way into the market, and Parvana went back to her blanket. (8.66-8.67)
Parvana is so sure she sees Father walking around the marketplace, but she is wrong. Luckily, though, the dude she manhandles seems pretty nice—he could have told her what most likely happens to old men in prison, but instead he tries to give her hope. Thanks, stranger.
Quote #5
It was a small square of embroidered cloth, no more than two inches long and an inch wide. Parvana had never seen it before. As she wondered where it had come from, her eyes went up the blacked-out window where she thought she had seen a flicker of movement a few weeks before. There was no movement now. (8.69)
The little present confirms to Parvana that someone is definitely watching her from that window. But who? And why? Parvana doesn't care; she is just glad there is a friendly presence in the marketplace.
Quote #6
"Most people who are arrested are never heard from again. They just disappear. I have an uncle who disappeared."
Parvana grabbed Shauzia's arm and forced her to stop walking. "My father's coming back, she said. "He is coming back!" (9.16-9.17)
Shauzia isn't trying to be a downer here—she's just explaining that the odds aren't really in Father's favor. Not many people can survive a Taliban prison, not to mention someone as frail and old as Father, but Parvana tells Shauzia to talk to the hand. Her father is not like the rest—so he will come home and that's final.