The Kite Runner

On the morning of the tournament, Hassan is chipper, recounting a dream about a lake with a monster lurking at the bottom. In the dream, Amir encourages Hassan and jumps in to prove there is no monster. Amir is dismissive and cranky when Hassan asks him what the dream could mean, snapping at Hassan that he should ask his father, who has told Hassan that all dreams have a meaning. Hassan quickly realizes that Amir is tense about the kite tournament and comforts him. 

Baba watches Amir and Hassan compete in the tournament together. More and more kites fall until only Amir’s kite and a blue kite remain. Amir and his last competitor tangle, but Amir is victorious. Stunned, Amir and Hassan embrace briefly before Hassan leaves to fetch the blue kite, calling back to Amir in affection, “For you a thousand times over” (59). Swept up in his victory and the adulation of his neighbors, Amir loses track of Hassan and goes in search of him. A cart vendor tells him that he saw Hassan running with a blue kite in hand chased by a gang of boys.