Amir

"Hassan never asked for anything but a smile."

"I could step into that street when the moment came."

"We had both sinned and betrayed each other."

"I opened my eyes and looked at him."

"I wanted to tell him he was wrong, but he wasn't."

"The wind had changed."

"I had already betrayed once before."

"I would find him, that boy who had haunted me for years."

"Kabul was a beautiful place once."

"I hadn't forgotten how to be a coward."

"He knew I was a liar."

"The streets of Kabul were dangerous now."

"I hadn't thought of him in years."

"My father had a way of patting my back that meant he was proud."

"I would buy him back."

"America had treated us well."

"There was no good answer for that."

"I thought I'd gotten away with it."

"I was a boy who could not stand up for himself."

"Hassan's face was kind even in sorrow."

"I wanted to be normal again."

"The boy was innocent."

"I had to know what happened."

"Soraya was my second chance."

"Some people don't deserve forgiveness."

"I ran the way I had run before."

"He smiled, that same smile from childhood."

"There was a way to fix things."

"I wasn't worthy of his forgiveness."

"The kites were still flying in Kabul."