The Bone Sparrow: Chapter 13 Summary & Analysis

Harvey sneaks into the tent in the dark, leaves something on Subhi’s legs, and whispers, “happy birthday.” Subhi pretends to be asleep. He knows what the gift is, as Harvey sneaks in the same thing every year: colored pencils and a blank sketchbook. Subhi draws even though it’s dark and admires his drawing of a feather when the sun comes up. Queeny gives Subhi a new pair of pants. Subhi kisses Maá, who’s still asleep but who maybe whispers “happy birthday” in Rohingya. Maá doesn’t come to breakfast, but it’s a lucky day. Breakfast is scrambled eggs and toast, which means there are Guests visiting.

As soon as Subhi is done, he races for the fence to tell Eli about Jimmie and the stories. But there’s only a ribbon tied in a bow on the fence, and Eli doesn’t come. He must be busy or distracted. Subhi tries to entertain himself for a while, and then elderly Nasir calls him over. Nasir has refugee status—he can’t return to where he came from—but he also has an “adverse risk assessment,” so he can’t leave the camp. He’s stuck here (though everyone else is too, and nobody knows why). Some days he’s as sharp as he used to be, but other days, he’s “confused.” He tells great stories and taught the kids entertaining games. Nasir wishes Subhi happy birthday and asks if Subhi is having a good day. When Subhi just shrugs, Nasir invites Subhi to sit with him.

Nasir only has one leg; the Jackets took away his prosthetic leg when he arrived. Still, his situation isn’t as bad as the Deaf woman whose hearing aid was taken, or the man who can’t get the medicine he needs to stave off headaches that make him scream. Now, Nasir gives Subhi a present: a shiny black stone that’s as smooth as silk. (Subhi knows what silk feels like because Nasir once took Subhi to look at his Belongings Box, which holds only his wife’s silk scarf.) It’s a “Pebble of Happy.” Just as Nasir taught Subhi to do, Subhi grips the stone and thinks the happiest thought he can. Each pebble can only hold one happy thought. Though Subhi tries to think of his ba, instead, he thinks of Jimmie and her story. It’s his happiest pebble yet.

Subhi then tells Nasir about Eli moving to Alpha. After a while, Nasir starts to “smudg[e] up,” so Subhi tells Nasir some of Nasir’s old stories and helps Nasir hold and remember his own Pebbles of Happy. As Nasir falls asleep, Subhi tells him about Jimmie and puts Jimmie’s feather in his hand. Later, Subhi tells Maá about his birthday and about the food. He saved her a sausage. Suddenly, Maá seems to sharpen. She touches Subhi’s face and sits up to drink water. She refuses the sausage and asks if it’s raining. It is—it’s pouring. Subhi helps Maá outside to stand in the rain. Quietly, she tells him that it used to never rain here, but it started raining as soon as Subhi was born. This country was waiting for him. The curfew bell rings, so Maá goes back to bed. Subhi whispers that he’s now 21 fence diamonds high and asks for a Listen Now story, but Maá doesn’t answer.