A Far Away Home (10 page)

Sayeed was quick to answer. “My son-in-law came from that area not so long ago. He
might be able to help you. Ali,
come here, please.”

“Yes, did you need my help?”

“Yes, no, well, my friend might. This is my son-in-law, Ali. This is Reza, my friend
and a pilot in the Iranian Air Force. He is flying relief missions to Bamiyan and
would like some help from someone who might know that area.”

“Salomalaykum, Ali. Sayeed has told me how good of a person you are and how happy
he is to have you as his son-in-law. He also said you might know something about
the Bamiyan area. We are having some trouble because our maps are old and not very
accurate. Even if you haven't flown, if you know the area, you would be a great help
to us.”

Ali's heart started to beat a little faster. He could help, probably more than a
little. “I do know the area, and I have flown.” Ali told Reza about his flying and
landing the plane at Sharidure and Kabul. He also mentioned knowing the area because
the American pilot showed him maps of Bamiyan province.

Reza was astounded at this young Afghan. He hadn't imagined that someone from rural
Afghanistan might have flown, especially not piloted a plane himself. “You are the
perfect person to help us. Could you come tomorrow to my office and take a look at
what we plan for next week? We would be glad to pay you.”

Ali looked briefly at Sayeed, who gave a slight nod of approval. “If my father-in-law
agrees, I would be very happy to help. The people who live there are my people, and
some of them are my family.”

Sayeed chimed in, “Of course, he must help. He can still work many days here and
be of great help to the Afghan people. You know, Reza, I also grew up near Bamiyan.
It is my duty, as well as Ali's, to help our people.”

So it was settled. Tomorrow Ali would meet with the Iranian Air Force to help find
places to drop food and supplies in Afghanistan. That night, he breathlessly told
Nafisa about this great chance. He worried some that she might be afraid to let him
go, possibly to be in danger from Russian planes. He told her about his chances to
fly with Dan, even landing the small plane at Sharidure. She could sense his excitement,
so she smiled and nodded, “Of course, you must go. Those are your people, your family
far away. Ali, they were my father's family, too. I am so proud that you will be
helping.”

***

The next morning Ali went with Reza to the air base in Muhshed. He climbed into one
of the seats behind the pilots, across from the navigator. As the cargo plane taxied
onto the runway, he thought of the first time he flew with Dan. It seemed like a
long time ago. When they entered Afghan air space, the pilot descended to a low altitude
to make the plane less easy of a target for the radar, and so Russian fighters might
not so easily find them. About an hour later, they were over territory that looked
more familiar to Ali. He began telling the pilot which valleys to follow to Bamiyan.
They soon entered the valley leading to Sharidure. He pointed it out as they flew
past. The pilot asked Ali where a good place might be to make the food drop. Ali
had him turn around to fly over the little airfield where he had taken off and landed.
That was probably the best place. The residents of Sharidure could get there easily
and haul the supplies downhill to their homes.

Ali noticed some people walking on the main street. He also noticed that the bridge
was back up. He couldn't see if any Russian vehicles or personnel were around. He
wondered
how his family was and if they even still lived there. He had received no
news about Sharidure.

The pilot decided the airfield was a good place to drop the supplies. He flew over
it once, then returned to make the drop. The small parachutes opened perfectly as
they left the plane, and Ali watched them float down to the airfield. He attached
a note on one of the packages. It just said he hoped the people of Sharidure were
well, particularly the children attending the school. This was a reference to the
secret school, because the other school would not be in session during the winter.
He signed the note, “Slingshot,” hoping someone would know it was from him.

***

Several people saw the parachutes floating down. They told others, and soon about
thirty people were on their way up to the airfield. They shouted with joy when they
saw what was in the packages, because there was a shortage of food in the village.
One of the children found the note from Ali and passed it around for others to read.
No one seemed to know who “Slingshot” was. Eventually, the note found its way to
Askgar, the leader of the Sharidure resistance. He smiled
when he saw the name, because
he was pretty sure who “Slingshot” was. He walked into Hassan's carpentry shop that
afternoon, carrying the note in his hand. Hassan knew about Ali's skill with a slingshot,
but he didn't know Askgar knew. “How do you know about Ali and his slingshot?” he
asked Askgar.

Askgar was reluctant to tell Hassan about the principal's office and the bridge.
“Several of his friends told me about his accuracy with a slingshot, but I never
really saw him use it.” He didn't want Hassan to even know about how Ali helped ambush
the Russian soldiers, so if the Russians ever tried to get Hassan to tell what he
knew about it, Hassan would never know to tell. “Do you think it might be from him?”
Askgar asked.

“I don't know. Maybe his sister could recognize the handwriting.” So the note went
to Shireen. She heard about the food and how it came to Sharidure. She heard about
the note and now she saw it. Her father asked her to look at the note, to see if
it might be from Ali.

She read it, examining the handwriting. It was Ali's handwriting, she was sure. She
helped him learn to write
and could be sure it was his. She looked at her father
and at Askgar. She wasn't sure if it was dangerous for Ali or them to say it was
his.

“It's all right to say. Askgar is not an agent of the Russians.” Hassan nodded to
her.

“Yes, I am sure it is from him. I know especially from how he writes his final letters.
He always adds a flourish on them. How did he get on a plane and how did he get food
for us? Do you think he will come back?”

“We think he went to Iran, but I don't know how he got on a plane. He did always
want to be a pilot.” Hassan spoke proudly of his son.

“The Iranians have been dropping supplies in the Bamiyan area. We have not received
any until today.” Askgar told them about other towns that received food. He also
told them the Russians were on the lookout for such drops and that Russian fighters
were patrolling to shoot down any Iranian planes. “The Russians want villagers to
move to bigger cities where they can watch them and control them. They want to make
us dependent on them.”

They talked late into the night, drinking tea and enjoying
the thought of someone
from their village being able to help them.

***

Back in Muhshed, Ali told his father-in-law, Sayeed, about the flight to Sharidure.
Ali and Reza had first gone to Sayeed's shop. Ali wished he knew more details about
his family and friends in Sharidure. He had only seen it from the air.

Sayeed asked if the drop was successful. “Yes, we saw the packages drop to the ground.
I think the airfield was a good place to drop them because it's a downhill short
trip from there to the town. It won't be hard for the people to get them to their
homes. We saw people, but we were too high to recognize anyone.” Ali didn't tell
them about his note. He didn't quite know if there could be any way for the people
in Sharidure to respond to him or even if anyone would know it was him.

When he got home, Nafisa had more questions. “Did it look the same? Could you see
your home? Did you see anyone you recognized?” Ali answered each question as best
he could. Then Nafisa surprised him with two questions he
hadn't thought about. “Were
there any Russians there?”

He said he hadn't seen any, but he couldn't be sure.

“Do you think there might be any Russian planes around Sharidure?”

He paused, then said, “We didn't see any.” That was the truth. “There haven't been
any in the area.” That was only the truth for the last week. There had been flights
when the Iranian pilots had to dodge and fly low and scramble back to Iran, but Ali
didn't want to worry Nafisa.

Every week, Ali flew to Afghanistan, mostly to Sharidure. The Iranians had been told
that no Russians had come to Sharidure, and the towns around there were safely getting
supplies from their airfield. Someone in the area was getting out the word that people
could get food and supplies safely there. There seemed to be an organized system
for receiving and distributing the supplies. Ali suspected he knew who that someone
was, probably Askgar, his father's friend who was in charge of the resistance. Each
flight, Ali dropped a note, always signing it “Slingshot.” He also asked Reza to
wave the plane's wings when flying over Sharidure, just the way he and Dan used to
do when flying there from Kabul. When Shireen
saw the plane waving at them, she now
knew it was Ali, and told her family. They never told anyone else, not wanting any
unfriendly ears to know who it was.

***

Ali's family grew in Muhshed when he and Nafisa had a daughter. Ali asked if her
name could be Shireen. He was at first worried that Shireen might have a knee that
wouldn't bend, like he had, so he was relieved to see her wiggling and bending both
of her knees. Several years later, they had a son, who they named Hassan. Again,
Ali hoped and prayed Hassan wouldn't have a problem with his knees, and again, he
was relieved to see both legs kicking and moving. As they grew, he told them stories
about Afghanistan and Sharidure. He taught them to fly kites and how to play tope
donda. They heard many stories about Mullah Nasrudeen, especially liking the one
about how the Mullah outwitted the children, when they bet him they were better chickens
than they were.

The children in Mullah Nasrudeen's village loved him and his stories, but they also
loved to try to outwit him. One of them thought up a way to get the best of him.
They would all conceal an egg in their shirts, then bet him they were better
chickens
than he was. They knew he would be too proud not to bet. He thought he was smarter,
stronger, and better in every way. They also knew he went every morning to the teahouse,
so they met him on the way. They asked him if he was better than they were in every
way. Of course he said, “Yes.” They asked him if he would take a bet about this.
He didn't even hesitate and said he would take the bet.

The children said together, “We are better chickens than you.”

The mullah hesitated a moment, then said, ”How can you prove that?”

They were waiting for just that question. They all hunched down, flapping their arms
like chickens, making clucking sounds. Then they squatted down, and each secretly
slipped an egg onto the ground. When they stood up, they pointed to the eggs and
said, “There, we can lay eggs, so we are better chickens.”

Mullah Nasrudeen thought for a moment, then began circling around, scratching the
dirt, flapping his wings and crowing like a rooster. “Now, which is the better chicken,
the hen or the rooster?” All of those little heads dropped down,
and small hands
reached in their pockets for a coin. They lost their bet.

At the end of the story, Shireen and Hassan always jumped up, hopping around, circling
and crowing like roosters. They laughed along with Ali and Nafisa.

Chapter Nine

Good News and Bad News

When the people in Sharidure heard the news that the Russians were leaving Afghanistan,
they hardly could believe it. The Mujahudeen had won, forcing the Russians to haul
their soldiers and tanks back to Russia. Everyone thought it would be like old times
again.

For a while it was, at least in Sharidure and the rest of the Bamiyan area, but not
so for Kabul. The various leaders of the Mujahudeen decided that they should take
turns at being the leader of Afghanistan. That didn't work out, and fighting began
for control of Kabul. The various groups fought each other, and Kabul suffered. Eventually,
a new group, calling themselves the “Taliban” (religious students) got control and
gradually started taking over other parts of Afghanistan. For a long time, the Hazara
held out in their area, Bamiyan, but
finally the passes that controlled entry into
Bamiyan couldn't be held, and the Taliban took Bamiyan. It wasn't long before they
arrived in Sharidure.

***

When the news about the Russians leaving Afghanistan came over radio and TV in Muhshed,
Sayeed hesitated to tell Ali. He thought Ali would immediately go back to his far
away home. But, he also realized that if it were himself, when he was still in his
youth, he too would probably be leaving for his former home. He would dearly miss
his daughter and grandchildren.

Ali also heard the great news, that the Russians left. He realized it would be safe
now for him to return. He would make a home for his new family in Sharidure. He would
be so proud to introduce his wife and children. He made plans for the return, asking
others the best way. If they went by bus, it would limit how much they could take
from their home. Going by truck would allow taking all of their things, but this
would not be the best way for Nafisa and his children to get across the border and
through the many unfamiliar stops along the way. He badly wanted to contact his family,
but because the flights now would no longer be needed, he couldn't drop a letter.