And the Mountains Echoed

The narration shifts to Idris and Timur—the two cousins that lived and grew up across the street from the Wahdatis. There is a girl they are visiting in the hospital. Ara, their guide and worker alongside Mr. Markos, leads them into the hospital, where they are visiting. The girl's name is Roshana (Roshi), and she is 10 years old. Idris and Timur are shocked by her appearance.

Amra does not explain who had done what to Roshi, despite the cousins’ questions. When questioned why they are in Afghanistan, they admit they want to “give back” to their homeland, to “bear witness to the aftermath of all these years of war and destruction” (136). However, the real reason they have come back is to reclaim their family’s property. The value has been skyrocketing now that there are foreign people needing places to live in Kabul while they are rebuilding.

The story moves into a flashback to provide some relational context between these two cousins. The story follows Idris at the death of his father and Timur right beside him through it all, dramatically crying as though it was his father. Timur is a successful car salesman. While Idris is struggling through his medical residency, his wife is working as a secretary at a law firm while and preparing for her LSATs.