It was twilight. A equine approached, and from its velocity it was wide that it intended to transverse me. It wanted to permission Khanaqin arsenic speedy arsenic imaginable and transverse to Iran. Before it came close, I did my duty, gave myself a small shingle and acceptable disconnected a landmine. The detonation hurled the equine into the aerial and it landed connected its broadside with a large thud.
It stood up again with large effort, shaking itself. Its assemblage was inactive warm, but the equine shivered nonetheless. It tried to move, but it staggered and fell. The equine tried to emergence respective much times, attempting to move, yet it stumbled each clip and fell backmost down again. Looking astatine itself, it noticed a gaping coiled connected 1 of its legs; steam was rising from the torn soma and exposed bones. Its humor had drawn crooked and contorted lines connected the ground, arsenic if a creator had splashed colorful strokes connected a canvas to make a postmodern masterpiece.
That night, the equine was thrashing and writhing successful agony, suffering from the symptom of its wound. Much of its humor had drained from its body, and arsenic clip passed, it had mislaid its spot and was nary longer capable to move. Despite the pain, it tried to nibble from the writer and plants nearby. It had go near-impossible for the equine to graze, it had nary vigor near and it besides had to beryllium mindful of the pieces of shrapnel and slug casings scattered connected the crushed betwixt the plants. Every clip it takes a bite, its lips oregon teeth touched a bullet, a portion of shrapnel oregon a casing. When the prima yet rose, the equine resembled a weary creator who, aft sizeable effort, has completed his coating and fallen dormant connected apical of it, exhausted and hardly alive.
For a fewer days, the equine fed connected the aforesaid plants and writer and drank from the rainwater collected successful a puddle nearby. About a week passed successful this fashion, and the coiled connected its limb was healing.
*
Gradually, the equine was getting accustomed to lasting connected its remaining 3 steadfast legs and falling little often.
The anti-aircraft guns and rifles of some Iran and Iraq had burst into action. From some sides, the whizzing dependable of bullets, the roar of tanks, and the booming dependable of artillery occurrence could beryllium heard. Hence, cipher dared to attack the horse, and its proprietor wasn’t found. I had acquired specified powerfulness that cipher dared to travel adjacent me. I had grown truthful gangly that adjacent airplanes and helicopters were mindful of me.
We were successful the midst of war, and, astonishingly, I had go much prosperous and much powerful. In these caller years, I, too, person gained a presumption and influence, and with the assistance of mines and weapons of war, I person secured a spot truthful beardown that nary 1 tin imagination of removing me.
Several nights passed. No substance however overmuch I tried to speech with the equine and commencement a conversation, it didn’t respond and seemed dazed and confused. However, erstwhile it realized it was stuck and incapable to determination owed to the ongoing explosions of artillery occurrence and weaponry shells astir it, knowing it could dice immoderate second, its bosom gradually softened. It was nary longer arsenic restless arsenic earlier and didn’t crook distant from maine arsenic frequently.
Slowly, it spoke a fewer words. It knew determination was nary solution and it had to accidental immoderate things. Even though I was its sworn enemy, who other did it person to talk to and stock its bosom with? While the equine spoke, its eyes were fixed connected the sky, and it ne'er looked downwards.
*
I lived for twenty-one years connected the lukewarm plains of Khanaqin. I carried loads and goods towards the Bamoo mountains for the Peshmerga. Now, I privation to instrumentality to the spot wherever I was born, to dice wherever the aboriginal days of my beingness were spent. I wanted to go a portion of that soil. Amidst the warfare betwixt 2 governments, I present find myself trapped astatine the borderline and amazed that I person managed to past until today, and that this half-life of excavation has not go a people for the soldiers’ bullets. I tin neither spell upward towards the mountains nor downward towards the plains. Before the war, we utilized to question without fearfulness and hesitation, and the borders weren’t truthful anxious to instrumentality anyone’s life.
One greeting astatine dawn, the entity inactive a spot dark, I brought Barzoo and his sister Shirin, and astatine this precise point, possibly a small further it, we crossed the borderline and headed towards Khanaqin. Shirin was sitting down Barzoo connected my back, and said, “Brother! I haven’t seen Khanaqin yet. What volition you bargain for maine there?” Barzoo replied, “My beloved sister, I’ll bargain you immoderate you want: clothes, scarves, shoes . . .” At that time, the borderline betwixt Qasr and Khanaqin had small security, and astir of the clip the guards weren’t adjacent astatine their posts. Whenever they caught someone, they could easy beryllium bribed with a day thenar leaf.
It was astir noon erstwhile we arrived successful Khanaqin. Barzoo and Shirin’s relatives came to greet them. A mates of women surrounded Shirin. I inactive retrieve the words of Aunt Zmroot, who kissed Shirin’s forehead and said, “May Dawu instrumentality bully attraction of you. You’ve grown up! Four years ago, erstwhile we came to your house, you were conscionable a small child. How clip flies!” Shirin replied, “Thank you, Aunt Zmroot.”
At sunset connected the archetypal day, Zmroot and her daughters had dispersed a large array successful the courtyard and prepared soup, meat, and rice. That day, they paid peculiar attraction to Shirin and ne'er near her alone.
Shirin aboriginal complained and said, “When Zmroot and her daughters brought maine those apparel and dressed maine up, I became suspicious. My member was expected to bargain apparel for me, not Zmroot’s family! Later, I realized wherefore my parent was crying erstwhile we left.”
These are tiny fragments of Shirin’s beingness that I person either witnessed oregon heard from her ain mouth. That time was 1 of the worst days of her life. On his past trip, Barzoo had promised maine and Shirin to Sayeh. On his return, alternatively of Shirin and me, helium brought location immoderate provisions, cloth, and clothes. “Shirin’s beingness is successful your hands now!” helium said, earlier helium returned to the different broadside of the border, and Shirin and I were tied to Sayeh’s fate.
*
I present understood that the last instrumentality of the equine to the onshore of its commencement was meant to uncover a concealed that needed to beryllium told.
__________________________________
From The Shadeless Border by Jiyar Jahan Fard, translated by Chiya Parvizpur, published by Common Notions. Copyright © 2026 Jiyar Jahan Fard. All rights reserved.
English (US) ·