After declaring that the Taliban had murdered the Hazaras in Mazar-i-Sharif in the previous chapter, Rahim Khan took a break from telling his story. It is during the break in the story that Amir has time to think about all that Rahim Khan has told him. "It hit me again, the enormity of what I had done that winter and that following summer." page 214. From this quote it can be seen that this visit with Rahim Khan is forcing Amir to face demons that he had tired to bury long ago. Trying to drag himself out of his self reflection, Amir inquires on whether or not Hassan is still living in their old house. Rahim Khan's response is to hand Amir a letter. Rahim Khan's failure to answer Amir's question suggests that something bad may have happened to Hassan. Amir does not press Rahim Khan any further and instead goes on to read Hassan's letter. Contained within it is a picture of Hassan and his son Sohrab. Amir comments on how Rahim Khan was right ant that he "... would have recognized him if I had bumped into him on the street." page 215.
From reading Hassan's letter it can be seen that harbors not ill will toward Amir for the things he had done. Hassan had ended the letter by stating that "And I dream that someday you will return to Kabul to revisit the land of our childhood. If you do, you will find an old faithful friend waiting for you." page 218. This statement shows that Hassan is still just as faithful as he always was and still feels for Amir that same way he did when they were kids, before that horrific incident ever took place. After reading the letter Amir once again asks Rahim Khan about Hassan; this time he asks how he is doing. It is at this point that Rahim Khan reveals that Hassan is dead. Hassan was killed because he refused to leave the house when the Talibs accused him of trespassing. Hassan argued that he was living with Rahim Khan and that he was just away, but the Talibs would hear nothing of it and shot Hassan in the back of the head. When his wife, Farzana heard the commotion she ran outside and they shot her too, claiming that it was self defense.
Amir is devastated by the news of Hassan's death. When he is able to collect himself he asks what happened to Hassan's son, Sohrab. Rahim Khan informs him that he was placed in an orphanage. This is when Rahim Khan reveals the other reason he asked Amir to come and visit him and it is that he wants him to go find Sohrab and bring him back to Peshawar where there is a safe place for him to go. Amir slips back into his old nature of being self absorbed and thinking of no one other than himself and refuses to go and asks why does it have to be him. Rahim Khan says, "And why you? I think we both know why it has to be you, don't we?" page 221. This statement alludes back to the fact that Rahim Khan is aware of the situation that occurred between Hassan and Amir when they were boys. Rahim tries to guilt Amir into doing it, but when that does not work he reveals a big secret. The secret is that Hassan is in fact Amir's brother. Shocked by this revelation, Amir storms out of Rahim Khan's apartment.
Once out of Rahim Khan's apartment, Amir goes to a samovar house where he reflects upon all the events of his life. He realizes that there have been signs all along that indicated that Hassan was his brother. Some of which were that his Baba had fixed Hassan's harelip or that he never missed Hassan's birthday. Also the conversation that they had when Amir had asked his Baba if they could hire new servants. "Hassan's not going anywhere, he'd barked. He's staying right here with us, where he belongs. This is his home and we're his family." page 225. Then he also remembered how his father had wept when Ali and Hassan had left. However, one could not have come to the conclusion with these examples alone that Hassan was Amir's brother, but they can be used as evidence to support that fact. Amir goes on to realize that him and his father were more alike than he ever thought, "We had both betrayed the people who would have given their lives for us." page 226. It is at this point that Amir decides that he will go and find Sohrab, believing that "...Rahim Khan had summoned me here to atone not just for my sins but for Baba's too." page 226.
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