Chapter 3

I lay in the bushes and watched the huts for over an hour. There was very little movement, a few chickens were rooting around in the dust but that was all. The desert would soon be washed with daylight, so I needed to find some cover and find it quick. I knew that once I was seen by anyone my time was up, the locals were all scared of the Taliban and would do anything to curry favor including ratting on me.

The lack of food and drink was now really starting to take its toll and I could sense that my senses and my brain functions were shutting down. I needed to rest up and I needed to find food and water.

There were three stone huts, one looked like some sort of accommodation, as it had a chimney. There was no smoke coming from the chimney and there were no lights showing

The others looked like animal shelters but apart from the chickens, I saw no animals.

I decided it was now or never, so I got first up to my knees and then onto my feet, I skirt around to the left of the huts with my AK47 in the firing position. I half jogged half shuffled to the doorway of one of the animal huts and peered inside. There was straw on the floor and some straw bales stacked against one of the walls. The hut had a door but no windows as such. It was lit by candles that looked like they were made from animal fat. They let out a weird smell that was for sure.

I looked around for food or water but there was none, I went to the other animal hut. It had straw on the floor and lots of animal dung but fuck all else. There was a table of sorts and it seemed to have been used to slaughter animals. There were knives and the tabletop was covered in old, dried blood.

I went back to the first hut and sat behind the straw bales; the AK rested on top of one of them aimed at the door. I took stock, I had the Glock with one full magazine plus one spare. I had the AK47 and three spare magazines so around a hundred and twenty rounds. I had the NVGs, but they did not have much battery left.

Plus, I still had the GPs unit and my knife...

I sat and I wondered what to do next. What did I do next, well I fell asleep of course?

I woke up and it was dark outside the hut, I peeked out and saw two people moving around so I ducked back into the hut and tried to stay on guard, but I was dog tired and as much as I tried, I could not stay awake.

I woke up the next morning with the sound of bleating goats all around me, the sun was high in the sky, and I felt fucked. I had no energy, and my head was pounding. My vision was a bit blurry, and I knew that was a sign that I was fading and that I needed to eat and drink.

I looked out of the door and glanced at my watch; it was just after ten o’clock. I could feel cramps in my stomach, and I was sure the grumbling noises coming from it would warn anyone of my presence.

I did not doubt in my mind I needed to eat, and I needed water, or I was fucked. I grabbed the AK47 and peeked out of the door, left, and right and there seemed to be no one around.

I could see that there was smoking coming from the chimney of the third hut. I shuffled around the left-hand side of the hut and there was a scream. A bloody loud scream

There was a lady in a Burka. I could not tell if she was armed or not, I lifted my AK more as a warning than anything else when something slammed down onto my head, and I blacked out.

I woke up and realized two things straight away, one I was naked and two there was a ceiling above me. I was on a makeshift bed, it seemed to be made from a mat of straw and there were animal skin blankets over me. I looked to my left and saw my clothes on a chair, my webbing and my AK were on the floor next to it. My desert boots were also there.

My head was throbbing, and I felt it and found a huge lump, but the skin was not broken, and I guessed that was a good thing.

I could smell food and I turned my head to the right; two ladies were sitting on chairs. They were both wearing Burkas and I could only really see their eyes. They were watching me intently.

They looked at me and I looked at them. I was not sure what to do ... I figured if they were going to grass me up to the Taliban, I would be tied up in one of the barns.

“Hello, “I said, and they both looked at each other and giggled. My throat crackled as I spoke.

“Do you speak English?” I asked

“Yes, I speak English very well, “the one to the right said, and motioned toward the other lady, “my sister does but not so well”

“What are your names?” I asked.

“I am Asmaan,” she said, and her eyes seemed to smile.

“And I am Damsa, “said the other

“What is your name sir?” asked Asmaan

“They call me Rosie, “I said and smiled at them.

“Would you like some water Mr. Rosie?” asked Asmaan.

“I would love some water please “I replied, “and please just call me Rosie”

She went to the far side of the hut and brought back a mug of water, it was lukewarm, but it was water, and it was welcome. I drank it in sips, I knew from our survival training courses that necking the water was not a good idea. I sipped the first mug until it was empty and handed it back to Asmaan, she refilled it from a bucket in the kitchen area.

I took my time to drain the second mug and as soon as it was empty Asmaan refilled it. Even after two mugs of water I was starting to feel better.

“You are an American?” Damsa asked.

“No, I am English “I replied with a smile.

I drank some more water and then my stomach rumbled.

“I am sorry I hit you,” Damsa said

“that’s okay I would have done the same thing” I replied with a smile.

“You are hungry?” Asmaan asked

“I am very hungry,” I said and smiled. She got up and headed into the kitchen area. When she came back, she had a plate with loaded diced chicken kebab and some meat I found out later was from a goat, there was also a rice dish and two flatbreads.

I ate slowly, making sure I chewed the meat to get all the nutrients from it. The two ladies watched me as I ate, and once the plate was empty Damsa took it from me and headed into the kitchen area.

“Would you like more food?” Asmaan asked

“No right now, thank you” I replied, I knew it was dangerous to overdo it.

Damsa returned with a tray that had three mugs of sweet mint tea, she handed one to me and gave one to Asmaan.

“So are you one of the men that attacked the training camps,” Asmaan asked

I thought about that question for a few seconds before I answered it. I wondered if they had sent a message to the local Taliban leaders, were a bunch of them coming to get me. If they were would they have fed me?

I decided to be honest

“Yes, I was one of the team,” I said and waited for their reaction

“Good, they are horrible men,” Damsa said and looked at Asmaan

“The real Afghani people hate them but at the same time we are scared of them,” she said

“They stop women and girls from living their lives” Damsa chipped in

I knew that The Taliban has been internationally condemned for the harsh enforcement of their interpretation of Islamic Sharia law, which has resulted in their brutal treatment of many Afghans.

I also knew that while the Taliban had controlled Afghanistan, they banned activities and media including paintings, photographs, and movies that depicted people or other living things. They also prohibited music using instruments, with the exception of the daf, a type of frame drum.

The Taliban prevented girls and young women from attending school banned women from working in jobs outside of healthcare (male doctors were prohibited from treating women), and required that women be accompanied by a male relative and wear a burka at all times when in public. If women broke certain rules, they were publicly whipped or executed.

It gave them no life at all from what I had heard and seen.

“But you wear the Burka? “I said

“IF we don’t, we would be flogged or worse,” Asmaan told me, “We are both widows and we need to live our lives, the Taliban leave us be if we obey their rules”

“You are sisters?” I asked and sipped on more of the mint tea.

“We are sisters by marriage, what do you call that?” Asmaan asked

“Sisters in law,” I said with a smile.

“Yes, sisters in law, our husbands were brothers,” she said and there was a smile in her eyes.

“And both brothers are dead?” I asked and as soon as I had I regretted asking

The ladies did not seem to mind me asking

“They were both killed in fighting three years ago,” Damsa told me

For the rest of the evening, they asked me about England, about how people live there. Asmaan asked if women were allowed to work and if girls went to school. They kept giving me mugs of sweet mint tea.

Damsa asked about houses and shops. She asked if we had cinemas and dance halls. I wondered how she knew about such things.

I am not sure what time I fell asleep...

I was woken by the sound of voices; I was worried until I glanced around and saw that it was the two ladies in the kitchen, they were both dressed in their black Burkas.

“Good morning, ladies, “I said warning them that I was awake.

“Good morning, Rosie” they both chimed

“Would you like tea?” Damsa asked

“Yes please “I replied, I could feel that my body was reacting well to the fluids and the food I had taken on board the previous evening. I checked the back of my head, the lump seemed to be going down and the throbbing had all but gone.

Damsa passed me a mug of sweet chai tea.

“Are you hungry this morning Rosie?” Asmaan asked

“Yes ... yes I am” I told her

She soon had a tray with plates full of food ready for me, I would have liked to have stood up, but I was still naked and did not want to stand naked before these two ladies.

We ate together and we chatted, it all seemed so normal. It did not feel like I was an enemy combatant in the middle of a war zone.

The food they had prepared was amazing, fried eggs with tomatoes and potatoes plus there was something they told me was Roht, which was a sweet bread. I tucked in and the food tasted bloody amazing.

Again, as we ate, we chatted...

They told me that the Taliban did not bother them too much as long as they traded with them. They farmed goats, sheep and chickens and the Taliban paid them for the meat and the milk.

I guess everyone needs to make a living and you have to do what you have to do.

Once we had eaten, Damsa told me she had to go and tend to the animals, and she left the hut. Asmaan asked me if there was anything I needed. I needed a wash that was for sure, I was aware that after a few days in the desert I was not the cleanest, and I could smell my own BO. I also needed to use the toilet.

She told me she would arrange that for me, she added more wood onto the fire and then left the hut, she came back a few minutes later. She had a huge bucket of water, and she tipped it into a big cauldron that was hanging over the fire. I guessed they had a well on their little farm.