Wednesday 17 October
It’s warmer than usual in Idlib. They have an old saying that a warm summer leads to a severe winter. Ahmed has taken precautions, so he’s ready for the cold.
“Hi Ahmed. What shall we talk about?”
“Let’ see… actually, everything’s fine. My family is doing well, and yesterday we did a puppet show in Maaret Masrin, near the city of Idlib. It was a nice show, the children enjoyed it, it was a great day.”
“Well, except that my daughter has come down with the flu, but that’s probably because the weather is about to change. Although it’s still really hot. Is it hot there, too? Here it’s warmer than usual. We’re still keeping the fan on at night. We have a saying that a severe winter follows a hot, dry summer. Lots of snow, freezing temperatures, rain. That would be something.”
“But I’m ready. All summer I’ve been buying up fuel for the heater. You have to start early because everything’s scarce and the prices are high. Lots of people here burn wood and coal, but I don’t do that anymore. I don’t want my kids to get sick from the filthy air.”
“First we’re going to enjoy the peace and quiet, while we still can. Talk to you later!”