In April 2001, the Taliban plants TNT in the two giant Buddhas in Bamiyan and chant as the artifacts are blown to pieces. The Taliban claim that they are ridding the country of idolatry and sin. As the statues crumble, Laila sees her own life crumbling as well. Rasheed tells his family that they must pack to go away, and Aziza puts into a paper bag all the small things that are precious to her. The five leave to Karteh-Seh, and when they arrive at the barracks, Aziza asks her parents how long she will have to stay in the orphanage. Rasheed gives her a stick of gum to quiet her. When Aziza is taken away, Zalmai cries for his sister. Mariam and Laila walk the rest of the way with Aziza, and they promise to visit her.

They soon meet the director of the orphanage—a balding man named Zaman. He asks Laila about Aziza’s background, and when Laila tells Zaman that the girl’s father, her husband, is dead, Zaman says that he runs the orphanage on an honor system and does not question desperate mothers. Aziza panics when Mariam and Laila leave the orphanage, and Laila bursts into tears.

For a while after, Rasheed humors Laila and walks the family to the orphanage to visit Aziza, but soon, this wears off and Rasheed complains that his feet and legs ache from the walking. One day, he tells Laila that he will no longer take her to the orphanage. Laila says that she will go alone, and Rasheed warns her about the Taliban. Most of the time Laila cannot make it all the way to the orphanage because she ends up running into a Taliban member on the street. On the days that Laila does make it to the orphanage, she spends hours with Aziza talking about what she learned in class that week.

One afternoon in June 2001, Rasheed gives in to Laila’s requests and takes the entire family to visit the orphanage. As Aziza tells her family about tectonic plates, Laila responds gingerly: her jaw is still sore from the beating that Rasheed had given her two days earlier. Mariam remarks that Aziza is getting very smart in her class. Laila notices some neglect in Aziza’s hygiene, and Aziza tries to hide her dirty fingernails from her mother. Aziza also tries to explain away the grime on the other children and insists that she is coping well with life at the orphanage.

Later, the family takes a short outing from the orphanage and visits Titanic City. Rasheed tells Zalmai to pick out a gift for himself, and the boy chooses a rubber basketball. When it is Aziza’s turn to pick a gift, a gumball machine, Rasheed yells that he cannot afford both and tells her to put back her gift. Rasheed returns to work—he has taken a job as a doorman at the Intercontinental Hotel—and the women return Aziza to the orphanage. When they return home, Zalmai yells at a man who is standing in front of their door to get away from the house. Laila’s knees grow weak as she recognizes Tariq, and then she runs to him.