Shadow

A crowd surrounds Aman, beating him for stealing the apple. When his mother arrives, she claims that she stole the apple. The police arrive and beat Aman’s mother. Then, they arrest her and take her to jail, where they torture her. They release her weeks later, and she will not even look at Aman. She and Aman’s grandmother cry together for days.

Around this time, a spaniel shows up outside the cave, emaciated and covered in sores. In Aman’s culture, dogs are kept outside. At first, Aman tries to chase her away by throwing stones, but he takes pity on her kind eyes. He sleeps next to her and tends to her wounded leg the next day. Local children chase the dog away, calling her a filthy foreign dog, but she returns. Aman discovers that she likes tripe, the only meat they can afford, so he feeds her the rotten leftover bits. His mother and grandmother chase her out of the cave, but she returns at night to be with Aman.

For weeks, the dog visits Aman only when he is alone, waiting for Aman’s mother and grandmother to go to sleep. Early one morning, Aman awakes to find the dog gone, and his mother and grandmother are up early. His mother is crying. They say that they received a letter from Uncle Mir in England. Mir is Aman’s grandmother’s only son and his mother’s older brother. Aman has never met him. As a young man, Mir went to Kabul and married an Englishwoman. Everyone in the caves knows about him. Mir would write to the family, telling them to come to England where it is safe, even offering to send them money to help. Aman’s mother and grandmother would often argue about leaving. Aman’s grandmother’s bad legs made the journey impossible for her, but Aman’s mother refused to leave her behind.

Now, Aman’s grandmother is adamant that they respect her wishes and leave. She gives Aman’s mother an envelope with money from Mir, her jewelry, and even the jewels she has hidden away, instructing them to take Aman’s father’s donkey and head to Kabul, where they can escape. Aman’s mother finally agrees. In town, they make arrangements over the phone with Mir, and Aman talks to him for the first time. After learning that Mir is a Manchester United fan (Aman’s favorite soccer team), Aman is excited.

On the way back from the market, a man shouts at Aman’s mother as she tries to buy flour. In tears, Aman’s mother explains that he is one of the Taliban men who took Aman’s father away. The Taliban are still everywhere, hiding in plain sight. The man’s brother is the police officer who beat Aman’s mother. The man threatens to have her sent back to prison if they do not leave the valley. 

That night, the spaniel returns. Aman buries his face in her fur, asking if things will be all right. Deep down, he knows that something terrible is about to happen.

The police come the next day while Aman’s mother is away. They knock his grandmother to the floor and beat Aman. The spaniel comes to Aman’s defense, but they beat her, too, driving her out of the cave. They break everything and even urinate on the mattress before leaving. Aman’s grandmother is unconscious, with a large gash on her head. Aman treats her as best he can until his mother returns. His grandmother never regains consciousness and dies that night.

They bury his grandmother the next day and leave for Kabul, taking turns riding his father’s donkey. The dog accompanies them, and strangers along the way help them out. Despite mourning his grandmother, Aman is excited to set off on a great adventure like Uncle Mir.

Near Kabul, they arrive at a police checkpoint, and Aman’s mother is terrified. The police drive the spaniel off with rocks. Aman is furious and shouts at them. The police call them “filthy Hazara dogs” and surround them (39). The dog returns to defend them, even biting one of the soldiers, until they shoot at her and she runs off again. Holding Aman and his mother at rifle point, the police search them, telling them that their papers are no good. They cut open the mattress and find the jewels and Uncle Mir’s money, taking all except a few coins, acting sarcastically generous. They decide to take the donkey, too. As Aman and his mother walk away, she tells him to walk tall and not let the police see them cry. However, an hour later, she begins sobbing. Aman is too angry to cry.

To Aman’s amazement, the dog returns. The spaniel even manages to lift Aman’s mother’s spirit. Aman’s mother says that she misjudged the dog and that they should welcome her: The dog is a friend, like a shadow that will not leave them. Aman decides to name her “Shadow.” Shadow gives them hope that they will still find their way to England.

After waiting for hours, Aman and his mother manage to get a ride in the back of a melon truck. They secretly eat several of the melons and reach Kabul the next morning. The crowded city is overwhelming. Most men are armed, and they seem suspicious of Shadow. Aman’s mother seeks out a phone: They are now totally reliant on the contact numbers that Uncle Mir wrote for them on the envelope.

Mir’s contact gives them food but becomes less helpful when they reveal that they were robbed of all their money. Aman does not trust the man, who keeps asking questions about Shadow. After affirming that Shadow is a tough fighter, he offers to help them out if they give Shadow to him to use as a fighting dog. Aman’s mother refuses, and the man loses his temper. He threatens dire consequences if they refuse to sell him the dog and locks them in a room.

Aman and his mother manage to escape through the room’s high window by flipping the bed over and using it to climb through. With Shadow in tow, they flee through the alleyway outside and leave Kabul. After waiting hours in the cold night, a Hazara man gives them a ride. He turns out to be very kind and shares his food and water. As they drive, he asks about Shadow: He has only seen such foreign dogs with the Americans or British, mostly used to help detect roadside bombs.

Aman and his mother fell asleep. The driver wakes them when they reach his destination, Kandahar. He points them in the direction of the Iranian frontier but warns them that they will need papers to cross into Iran, which they do not have. He insists on giving them some money, saying, “You are Hazara, you are like family, your need is greater than mine” (45).

The generous man’s money is enough for a meal and bus fare. Unfortunately, the bus breaks down in the middle of the desert countryside. Aman and his mother walk for days in grueling conditions. The days are hot, and the nights are freezing, though the sky is blanketed with stars. They reach a village, but the villagers are not helpful. They seem more interested in Shadow than Aman and his mother.

As they continue down the road, some of the local children follow them curiously. Shadow, walking ahead of them, comes to a sudden stop at a crossroads, standing still and looking at the ground by the side of the road. Aman sees foreign soldiers approaching, sweeping the ground with a mine detector. He realizes that Shadow has detected a hidden bomb. Aman runs ahead, toward the bomb, shouting to the soldiers to warn them of the danger.