Amir would fly the kite and Hassan would hold the spool. Amir would cut a dozen of those in the sky and Hassan would be his kite runner. Each time he ran to fetch the kite, he would shout to his master,"For you my friend, a thousand times over." Amir was the son of the master, Hassan, the servant's boy.
It started in 1978, when the Russians had turned Afghanistan into their pleasure factory of human masssacre. Afghanistan was losing its green.
But they still flew kites. And this made Amir and Hassan the best pals. Amir was weak, not brave enough to fight the big kids in the street. But he was a good story teller. Once he wrote a story about a poor man who got a cup that would turn tears into pearls. The story ended with the man on a heap of pearls with a bloody knife and a dead wife. Having heard this, Hassan had said," Why kill someone you love? Why didn't he use onions instead?"
Hassan was brave, but small in size, besides being a servant's son. He couldn't save himself one day while he was getting back with the kite Amir had won. He was sodomized by a grownup kid. Amir saw everything happening hiding behind a wall. Since then he knew he had failed his friendship.
He stayed away from Hassan as much as possible. He tried his best to make Hassan hate him. Then one day the servants left the house. So did the master and his boy. They escaped to Pakistan and then to the US.
Came 1988 and Amir graduated only to tell Baba, his father, a store owner now, he wanted to become a writer. He married Soraya. At the wedding, she asked him as he looked at her,"What do you see?" "I see the rest of my life", he had said. Shortly after Amir's Baba died. He became a successful writer. But he could never have a child with Soraya."God has always been fair," he would say to himself.
Twelve years later, Baba's friend in Pakistan called. He asked him to fly down to Lahore. When he did, he came to know that Hassan had been shot by the Taliban while he was taking care of his house in Kabul. And then came the fact that blew away his mind. Hassan was the illegitimate child of Baba. Hassan was his brother. All those days of kite flying and story telling flashed before Amir. And the heinous act he had witnessed cowardly came back to him.
Hassan had a son, Sohrab who lived in an orphanage now. He had to be brought out of the hell. It ws perhaps Amir's only way to be good again.
With Farid, a trusted driver, they went into Afghanistan. Afghanistan was now a blazing cemetery. Disguised as Talibans they made there way to Kabul and then to the orphanage only to know that Sohrab had been taken away by a local Taliban head for his pervert pleasures. God has always been fair. Amir had to get this boy out, take him back and make him his son. In pursuit of the boy, he met Assef, the same kid who had molested Hassan was now using his son. A fight followed and Sohrab who was as quick as his father with the slingshot hit Assef in the eye. Amir, Sohrab and Farid fled. They were lucky.
Amir brought back the boy to his wife and he was his family now. But it was not easy for the child. He once told Amir that he had started forgetting the faces of his parents. And that it was good his parents had died because he couldn't show them his face now. He felt dirty.
Then came the kite flying day. Amir flew the kite while Sohrab watched. As soon as Amir cut a kite in the sky, he saw Sohrab smiling. The healing had begun. Amir asked him, " Do you want me to be your kite-runner?" He nodded in agreement.
And as Amir ran to fetch the kite he said,"For you my friend, a thousand times over."
It started in 1978, when the Russians had turned Afghanistan into their pleasure factory of human masssacre. Afghanistan was losing its green.
But they still flew kites. And this made Amir and Hassan the best pals. Amir was weak, not brave enough to fight the big kids in the street. But he was a good story teller. Once he wrote a story about a poor man who got a cup that would turn tears into pearls. The story ended with the man on a heap of pearls with a bloody knife and a dead wife. Having heard this, Hassan had said," Why kill someone you love? Why didn't he use onions instead?"
Hassan was brave, but small in size, besides being a servant's son. He couldn't save himself one day while he was getting back with the kite Amir had won. He was sodomized by a grownup kid. Amir saw everything happening hiding behind a wall. Since then he knew he had failed his friendship.
He stayed away from Hassan as much as possible. He tried his best to make Hassan hate him. Then one day the servants left the house. So did the master and his boy. They escaped to Pakistan and then to the US.
Came 1988 and Amir graduated only to tell Baba, his father, a store owner now, he wanted to become a writer. He married Soraya. At the wedding, she asked him as he looked at her,"What do you see?" "I see the rest of my life", he had said. Shortly after Amir's Baba died. He became a successful writer. But he could never have a child with Soraya."God has always been fair," he would say to himself.
Twelve years later, Baba's friend in Pakistan called. He asked him to fly down to Lahore. When he did, he came to know that Hassan had been shot by the Taliban while he was taking care of his house in Kabul. And then came the fact that blew away his mind. Hassan was the illegitimate child of Baba. Hassan was his brother. All those days of kite flying and story telling flashed before Amir. And the heinous act he had witnessed cowardly came back to him.
Hassan had a son, Sohrab who lived in an orphanage now. He had to be brought out of the hell. It ws perhaps Amir's only way to be good again.
With Farid, a trusted driver, they went into Afghanistan. Afghanistan was now a blazing cemetery. Disguised as Talibans they made there way to Kabul and then to the orphanage only to know that Sohrab had been taken away by a local Taliban head for his pervert pleasures. God has always been fair. Amir had to get this boy out, take him back and make him his son. In pursuit of the boy, he met Assef, the same kid who had molested Hassan was now using his son. A fight followed and Sohrab who was as quick as his father with the slingshot hit Assef in the eye. Amir, Sohrab and Farid fled. They were lucky.
Amir brought back the boy to his wife and he was his family now. But it was not easy for the child. He once told Amir that he had started forgetting the faces of his parents. And that it was good his parents had died because he couldn't show them his face now. He felt dirty.
Then came the kite flying day. Amir flew the kite while Sohrab watched. As soon as Amir cut a kite in the sky, he saw Sohrab smiling. The healing had begun. Amir asked him, " Do you want me to be your kite-runner?" He nodded in agreement.
And as Amir ran to fetch the kite he said,"For you my friend, a thousand times over."
