And the Mountains Echoed

The narration shifts back three years before Parwana’s marriage to is married to Saboor. She is taking care of (and cleaning up)cleaning up her twin sister Masooma after she has had soiled herself. Masooma is paralyzed. She can speak and feels shame at her mess, but she cannot help it. Masooma seems to know that she is holding her sister's life back, and she claimsming that she “deserves better than [her]” (53). The narrator describes the amount of work Parwana must do in taking care of the both of them.

The narrator moves into a flashback to illustrate the context of the sisters' relationship. Masooma was the perfect child, and was the only expected one. Parwana arrived unexpectedly and was a difficult baby. Masooma was loved by all, and as she grew, she became a beautiful young woman. Even young boys were enchanted by her. Both Parwana and Masooma knew this, although it was an unspoken truth.

In the past, Parwana secretly admired Saboor, even as a youngster. At a young age, he would tell the village tales, and he admitted that he would like to write down his stories one day.