Earth and Ashes Read Online Free Page A

a man who listens to advice or thinks about the law or logic of war. To him, blood is the only answer for blood. He’ll take vengeance, evenat the cost of his own neck. That’s all there is to it. And he won’t care too much if he has blood on his hands either.
    “Old man, where are you? Come before your grandson drives me mad!”
    The guard’s shouts alarm you. You jump up, shouting, “Here I am, I’m coming!” as you run back to the hut.
    Yassin is standing in front of the hut, tossing stones at it. The guard has taken shelter and is roaring with fury. You reach Yassin, slap him smartly on his small head, and take the stones out of his hands. The furious guard emerges.
    “Your grandson’s gone mad. He began throwing stones at the hut. It didn’t matter what I said to him, he didn’t pay a blind bit of notice …”
    “I’m sorry, brother. The child is deaf. He can’t hear a word …”
    You take Yassin back toward the shop. Mirza Qadir comes out and makes his way toward the guard, laughing. You take up your place against the wooden post again and hug Yassin’s head to your chest.

    Yassin doesn’t cry. As usual, he’s bewildered.
    “Have tanks come here, too?” he asks.
    “How should I know? Be quiet!”
    You both fall silent. You both know that questions and answers are in vain. But then Yassin continues:
    “They must’ve come and taken the voice of the shopkeeper and the voice of the guard … Grandfather, have the Russians come and taken away everyone’s voice? What do they do with all the voices? Why did you let them take away your voice? If you hadn’t, would they’ve killed you? Grandma didn’t give them her voice and she’s dead. If she were here, she’d tell me the story of Baba Kharkash … No, if she were here, she’d have no voice …”
    He falls silent for a few moments, then he asks again, “Grandfather, do I have a voice?”
    You answer involuntarily, “Yes.”
    He repeats the question. You look at him and nod “yes,” making him understand. The child falls silent again. Then he asks, “So why am I alive?”

    He buries his face under your clothes. As if he wants to put an ear to your chest to listen for some sound from within. He hears nothing and shuts his eyes. Inside himself everything must make a sound. If only you could enter inside him and tell him the story of Baba Kharkash …
    Your wife’s unsteady voice reaches your ears:
    “Once upon a time there was a man named Baba Kharkash …”
    You find yourself standing on the large branch of a jujube tree, stark naked. You’ve climbed up it to shake down jujubes for Yassin. At the base of the tree, Yassin is gathering the fruit. Without being able to help it, you start to urinate. Crying, Yassin moves away from the bottom of the tree and sits at the base of another. He empties the apples out of your scarf and replaces them with his jujubes, then ties up the bundle again. Digging into the ground with his small hands, he finds a door near the surface, secured with a big padlock. He opens the lock with a jujube stone and crawls underground.
    “Yassin, where are you going? Wait! I’m coming down!”
    Yassin doesn’t hear your shouts and the door shuts behind him. You try to climb down from the tree, but the tree grows bigger and taller. You fall from the tree, but you don’t hit the ground …
    Your eyes are half-open. Your heart pounds in your rib cage. Yassin’s head is still calmly buried under your clothes. Mirza Qadir is having a conversation with the guard beside the wooden hut. You try to open your eyes as wide as possible. You don’t want to doze off again. You don’t want to dream. But the heaviness of your eyes has crushed your will …
    A woman’s voice rings in your ears.
    “Yassin! Yassin! Yassin!”
    It’s the voice of Zaynab, Yassin’s mother. Her laughter echoes around your head. Her voice comes from somewhere far below. You step to the door that leads underground. It is closed. You call out for