What kind of child is Sohrab? What incident offers some hope?

Sohrab is silent; he doesn't speak. He's sad, and he sleeps a lot. The incident that offers hope is the kite flying.....

Amir buys a kite. He walks over to Sohrab and shows him the kite. He tells Sohrab about the old days when Hassan was the best kite runner in all of Kabul.

Amir asks Sohrab if he wants to help him fly the kite. No answer. So Amir takes off running and the wind lifts his kite into the air. Amir notices Sohrab is standing right beside him. Although Sohrab doesn't answer when Amir asks if he wants to hold the string, Sohrab does take the string in his hands. It's a big moment.

A green kite starts closing in. (Don't forget the fighting part of Afghan kite flying!) Sohrab hands the string to Amir and Amir, very confidently, says he going to teach the green kite a lesson.

While Sohrab holds the spool, Amir does Hassan's "old lift-and-dive" trick. Amir is transported back to Kabul – Hassan, crows, mulberries, sawdust, and Ali dragging his foot. Amir cuts the green kite!

The people watching applaud. Sohrab smiles. And when Amir asks Sohrab if he wants Amir to run the green kite for him, Amir thinks he sees Sohrab nod. Before he takes off, Amir says to Sohrab, just like Hassan said all those years ago in Kabul, "For you, a thousand times over" (25.164).