- When Vahan wakes up, he sees a group of people talking and walking ahead of him. At first he figures they're Armenian, because every victim he's seen has been Armenian, but then he realizes they're speaking Turkish. These must be refugees from one of the towns that's been overtaken.
- He watches Turkish children go up to strangers and ask for food and money; some respond well, others don't.
- Vahan can almost hear his grandma's voice in his head, telling him he's no beggar—but he's hungry and he's got no other way of getting food.
- So he runs up to a woman coming out of a bakery and, in his best Turkish, asks for something to eat; she gives him a piece of bread.
- He snatches it and runs before any of the other kids can grab it. Vahan shares with us that it's the most humiliating and triumphant moment of his life.
- Sometimes Vahan gets the food, but other times he doesn't; he begins to hate every Turk, whether or not they give him anything.
- He hates the fact that they have a home to go to, and he doesn't. His clothes get dirtier and bigger on him (since he's losing weight from not eating) and he's helpless—it's all because of the Turks, he thinks.
- Begging might give him food sometimes, but it's not consistent and he's still got no home.
- So Vahan decides to try his luck again at the Altoonians'.