Talismans, authored by Jawad Khawari

Until a Russian plane crashed and its pilot fell into the captivity of Nika fighters. The pilot did not resemble Russians at all, but had black hair and almond-shaped eyes. If he had been able to speak the Hazara language, there would be no doubt that he was Hazara. After confirming he was Russian, he said: "If only we understood his language and asked him why they are so cruel that they send our elders to soap factories!" And when they tried to execute him, they found a picture of a woman in his pocket; if she had two additional wrinkles on her forehead, she would look more like Nika's mother. As soon as the pilot's eyes fell on that picture, tears streamed down his face, and Nika was so confused that he postponed his killing to another day. The next day, when he ordered his death, he heard his mother Shmen from Mount Mikh singing sad quatrain words.