(3rd Update)

In a desolate valley in Afghanistan's Parwan province, yellow sand swept through the otherwise desolate and deserted canyon, withered yellow weeds swept in the wind, swept over the rough weathered rocks, the ruins of bullets, and the shells of steel behemoths buried by the wind and sand with only a lone turret.

There was even a half-charred Soviet corpse at the top of the turret, and the hand was desperately stretched out to the clear blue sky, the soldiers who died many years ago, the black skeletons had long since dried into withered remains. A white-robed figure with a Kalashnikov rifle in his hand appeared in the deserted gorge, and when he passed by the scrapped T72 tank, he paused, climbed onto the rusty tracks, and used his bayonet to remove the fragments of clothing stuck to the dry bones, trying to find the identity that could prove the Soviet corpse, but unfortunately he still found nothing.

Eventually, the bearded man jumped out of the tank, saluted the top corpse for a long time, and made his way to the end of the canyon, where he would meet the handover at the destination of the long walk.

The man's name was Islamdin, and his original name was Nikolai Bestrov. In 1982, at the age of 18, he enlisted in the army and was sent to the battlefield in Afghanistan with great passion. Tired of the war, in 1983, Bestrov and two of his comrades became deserters, and when they fled to a valley, they were discovered by Afghan guerrillas, and during the battle, two of their comrades were killed, and Bestrov was wounded and captured.

After being captured, Bestrov tried to escape, only to be captured and severely beaten, knocking out all his teeth and having to put on a full mouth of dentures. Subsequently, he was escorted to the Panjshir Valley, the stronghold of the Afghan Mujahideen, where he met the legendary leader of the Mujahideen, Massoud, who, perhaps out of the mercy of the supreme leader, survived. A few months later, when he tried to escape again and was recaptured, he was beaten to death, so Bestrov had to resign himself and began to learn the national language of Afghanistan and adapt to local customs. Soon Bestrov was asked to convert to Islam, which he agreed to and had a new name, Islam al-Din.

In early 1984, Massoud learned from spies in Kabul that the Soviets and Afghan government forces were about to launch a new round of clearance operations in the Panjshir Valley. Captured Soviet officers and soldiers had two options, either to exchange with the Soviets as prisoners of war, or to flee to other countries through Pakistan. Fearing punishment by law enforcement authorities upon their return, all the POWs chose to leave for Pakistan, with the exception of Bestrov, who asked to stay. Arrange for him to be a personal guard.

In the years that followed, he endured numerous trials of life and death with Supreme Leader Massoud. Because of Bestrov's serious work attitude, he was deeply appreciated by Massoud. And Massoud always said that he would sleep soundly only when Bestrov was on duty.

Over the years, Sbetrov, who had changed his name and surname, helped many Soviet prisoners leave this sad place that had exhausted their youth and years, but they were afraid to return to their homeland to face trial, and in the end, without exception, those people did not choose to return to the country where they had abandoned them, but scattered in Western European countries for the rest of their lives.

At the end of the canyon, a middle-aged man in a white robe, also wearing a white robe, led a camel and stood in front of him, his expression mildly different from the scene of slaughter around him.

"Islam Din, my friend, you still came as promised." Seeing Isram-Din's appearance, the man holding the camel smiled slightly and opened his arms to give him a hug. The latter, however, did not behave in a commensurate manner, but raised his Kalashnikov rifle and aimed it at the man leading the camel.

"I'm sorry, Major Vasily, but I'm not your friend." Isramtin's tone was a little cold, "In fact, nine years ago, when the Motherland abandoned those poor creatures, I was no longer a Soviet soldier. ”

If it weren't for the fact that his closest comrades-in-arms had privately introduced him to Major Vasily from the Kazakh Soviet Republic, Islamdin would have thought that this was a conspiracy against the supreme leader of the Mujahideen.

"The motherland has made mistakes, but he hasn't been wrong all the time, has he? The mistakes made need to be corrected, is Islamdin not willing to give the Soviets even a chance to correct them? Vasily sighed and continued, "It's true that Gorbachev shouldn't have treated you like that back then, but you should have seen the video I gave you before, our new government leaders are actively rescuing those missing Soviet soldiers, and I heard that you have been helping those people for free, so I want to find information from you, after all, after 1989, we are no longer enemies." ”

Isramdin kicked the yellow sand under his feet, drew a circle carelessly with his toes, and only after Major Vasily finished speaking did he say disdainfully, "But I cannot forget the crimes you committed against those poor soldiers. For example, the twelve Soviet prisoners of war who died in the Bird Epo concentration camp, I would like to ask, will those high-ranking people feel guilty in their hearts? ”

"President Yanayev apologized to the people of the whole country on television." Major Vasily took out a newspaper from his bosom and placed it in front of Islamdin, "We should not forget these people, the Motherland and their mothers, are waiting for these children to come home. ”

"Home?" When Isramadin heard this, he smiled a little sadly, he waved his hand and laughed at himself, "Do I still have a home?" My mother thought I was dead. Alas, I had exactly five Soviet prisoners of war in my hands, all poor creatures who had been in the prisoner of war camp for almost seven years, who had just been released and were going to go to Western Europe. I'll bring them to you, and I'll be in this place in five days, and I'll bring people here, and you'll leave here with those five prisoners of war then." ”

"Okay." Seeing that things were finally progressing, Major Vasily breathed a sigh of relief, and he asked again, "What about you?" Don't plan to go back and check it out? ”

"No, I'm not going back."

Islamdin refused Major Vasily's request, his eyes, which had long been clouded by the baptism of wind and sand, looked at the blue sky outside the canyon, like the desire for freedom of a falcon in a cage, only to quickly dim again, and finally turned into a level as cold as a mirror.

"My heart is rooted in this yellow earth, and the original Bestrov is dead."

Alone in his own right, Islam turned around and returned to the canyon, into the dark depths of the yellow sand.