Amir was in a hospital in Peshawar. Farid and Sohrab took him there from Kabul, after escaping from Assef's house. He had a litany of injuries ranging from a ruptured spleen to a split lip. His lip resembled the harelip Hassan had as a boy, which only served to deepen Amir's guilt over the past. His mouth was wired shut and his eye socket bone was fractured, in short, he was a mess.

Farid and his wife were taking care of Sohrab, until Amir was well enough to care for the boy. Sohrab barely spoke, but he would sit for hours at Amir's side. Amir was slowly getting better, but Farid had told him he needed to leave Peshawar soon. Assef had the Taliban looking for Amir and so Peshawar was not a safe place.

Rahim Khan left his home the day after Farid and Amir started their journey to Kabul. He left a letter and a small key for Amir. The letter explained to Amir the reason his father was so distant and demanding of him when he was growing up. Rahim told Amir it was because he felt guilty, for not being able to claim Hassan as his son, to do so would have ruined Ali's, Baba's, Amir's, and Hassan's lives. He told Amir the good works his father did in Kabul was his way of assuaging his guilt over Hassan. Rahim also told Amir he had been too hard on himself for the act perpetrated by Assef against Hassan in the alley.

Amir finally, against the doctor's advice, left the hospital. He had already asked Farid to find John and Betty Caldwell. Rahim told him they would take Sohrab into their orphanage in Peshawar. Farid explained the couple never existed in Peshawar.

The key Rahim left Amir was to a safety deposit box and contained most of Rahim's money. Amir picked up the money, paid his hospital bill, and then the three of them started the journey to Islamabad. As Amir traveled, he remembered Rahim said the trip to Pakistan may allow him to find a way to be good again.

In Islamabad, they found a small refuge from the horrors of the Taliban. Islamabad was clean and beautiful, it reminded Amir of Kabul before the wars. There Farid found them an out of the way hotel to stay in which was clean, had electricity, and running water. As Farid left to return to his family, Amir gave him two thousand dollars for all his help.

Sohrab was still distant and only spoke when it was necessary. Amir that afternoon turned on the TV for Sohrab and then he took a pain pill, which put him to sleep. When he woke up it was evening and Sohrab was gone. He tried to find out if the manager had seen him leave, but the man was uncooperative. After Amir offered him money to help him, the manager, Mr. Fayyaz agreed to take Amir to Shah Faisal, the biggest mosque in the world. They went there because Sohrab was fascinated by the mosque, as they drove past it on their way to the hotel. They found the boy there sitting in the parking lot.

Amir discovered Sohrab had been thinking about mosques a lot, because he wondered if God would send him to hell for what he did to Assef. Amir assured him he would not go to hell for his actions. Sohrab felt dirty with sin, because Assef and his guards treated him like they did his father, so long ago. Amir assured the young boy he was not full of sin and he would never hurt him in any way. Then Amir asked Sohrab, if he would like to go to America to live with him and Soraya.

Sohrab doesn't answer his question. After a week Sohrab began to ask questions about San Francisco, which Amir saw as a positive sign. Amir finally told Sohrab he was Hassan's half-brother. The boy was confused as to why his father never told him this information, so Amir explained he never knew and that he had just found out the truth himself. He admitted Baba wouldn't acknowledge Hassan as his son, because he was a Hazara.

They decided Sohrab would come to America. Amir promised he would never live in an orphanage again. Amir asked Soraya if she would be willing to take in Sohrab; she said yes.

Amir and Sohrab went to the American embassy to find out how to obtain a visa for Sohrab and how to start the adoption process. They were told it was almost impossible to adopt a child from Afghanistan, because they had no proof his parents were dead and Amir was his half-uncle. Amir was told he needed to hire an immigration lawyer.

The lawyer confirmed it was almost impossible to adopt a child from Afghanistan. He suggested a way might be found if Amir put Sohrab into an orphanage and then started the adoption process. Amir later told Sohrab he might have to go into an orphanage. His reaction to this news was to become hysterical with fear. He also felt Amir was going back on his promise of not putting him in an orphanage.

Later that evening Soraya called to say a person she knows, who works for the INS, thought he could get a humanitarian visa for Sohrab. He could live with her and Amir while they filed for adoption. Amir knocked on the bathroom door to give Sohrab the good news. He was taking a bath, but Amir saw he was injured and called an ambulance.

Amir and Sohrab begin to form a bond and the boy tries trusting an adult. This works only until Amir tells him he might have to go into an orphanage for a while. Then Sohrab loses this hard-earned trust in Amir and takes his future into his own hands.