What in the text show that Amal lacks confident in this part of the story? Why you think this is when at the beginning of the book she appeared more out spoken?

As Amal walks towards home at the novel’s conclusion, her thoughts indicate that she can never escape her fear of Jawad Sahib. During Amal’s journey home following her release from the debt she owed Jawad, Amal reveals, “The walk took longer than I thought. I kept expecting someone to come after me. To snatch me away and take me back to the estate. But no one came” (225). This passage reveals that Amal struggles to accept her new freedom from the Khans. Amal’s liberation feels surreal and she fears that the Khans will force her to resume her position of servitude. Amal’s inability to believe she can freely return home indicates that her experience serving the Khans scarred her. She can never reclaim the innocence she possessed before her encounter with Jawad in Nabay Chak’s market. Amal will forever know the pain of separation from her home, family, and friends and the indignity of serving people who treat her as an inferior being. When Amal states that the walk took longer than anticipated, she draws a connection between her anxieties about serving the Khans and her ability to fully appreciate her freedom. The possibility that the Khans may one day reclaim Amal as their servant weighs on her, preventing Amal from focusing on reuniting with her family. Amal wonders, “Would Jawad Sahib be released one day? Would he come searching for me?” (226). These questions enforce Amal’s inescapable fear of Jawad. The possibility of Jawad’s return will always haunt Amal. Therefore, even when Nasreen Baji liberates Amal from her debt to Jawad, he still limits her freedom. Though Amal claims she does not feel frightened by the possibility that Jawad may find her one day, Saeed’s final words indicate otherwise. Amal thinks, “Today I was free, and even if I didn’t know what the future held, I knew I was going home. And right now, in this moment, that was enough” (226). Here, Amal’s claim that returning home satisfies her only in the present moment enforces that Amal’s uncertain future does threaten her happiness. Amal can avoid the possibility that Jawad will find her for now, but not forever. Amal’s words reveal that she recognizes returning home provides only a temporary reprieve from her imbedded fear of Jawad. This scene indicates that Amal’s time with the Khans will taint all her future happy experiences.