18 Stories on the Train

Nijat kept silent. This time, it was Huseyn who interfered:

“Say something. Aren’t there enough girls in the city? I swear that if you don’t marry, I’ll let my grandma to your place and I want to see how you will manage to expulse her.”

Husein's humor brought a smile to his friend’s face. But he still didn’t say anything about the case:

“Nijat, maybe you have problems that prevent you from marrying? Don't hide from us. We won't tell anyone,” Oktay said. He was so ambiguous that his friend was forced to answer:

“What are you talking about? Don’t even think about it. You know, Oktay, I do understand myself that one cannot wait too long with that. I am also aware that my father and my mother are extremely worried. They are desperate. But you have to understand me as well. At noon I am at work, at night I am home. Where should I find a girl? Let’s say I managed to find one. But then, I will have to get to know her well. I can’t get married blindfolded, can I?”

“Isn’t there a girl you would know well among your colleagues or relatives?” Huseyn asked.

“At work, no. Everyone’s married. As for relatives, I don’t know what to say. I think it is better to marry someone who is not your relative.”

“How many times did we tell you? You didn’t want to listen. Girls are girls. They are quick to get married. Now, it is not easy to find a girl who would match your age,” Oktay remarked.

At this moment, Huseyn noticed that two young ladies were walking towards them, and said, pointing at them:

“Look, Nijat, what pretties: nice and without makeup. Maybe they’re not even married. Maybe it is God sending them to you? What do you say? Which one do you like most?”

“Ok, ok, enough jokes already.”

“No jokes at all. He is right” Oktay said. “Come on, they don’t bite.” “Are you serious?” Nijat asked.

“Of course I am,” Oktay replied. “We’ll have plenty of time to get to know them better later.”

And when Huseyn said “Look, if you don’t approach them, then we will have serious doubts and assume that you have problems and that’s why you don’t show interest in girls,” it assaulted his honor. As soon as the girls walked around them, he summoned his courage and followed them. One of them was wearing a green jacket, the other a red one. He accelerated and walked over to the girl on the right, the one wearing a green jacket. He braced himself and said in a shy manner:

“Excuse me, you remind me of someone. Maybe we know each other?”

“Maybe you saw me in a dream?” the green jacketed girl replied with a bold face on.

“No, I’m serious. My name is Nijat.”

“No, young man, we don’t know each other.”

“Maybe we could know each other then, if you don’t mind. My intentions are pure. Please don’t think anything bad about me.”

They approached a department store. The girl in the green jacket said: “Please, Nijat, don’t follow us. Otherwise, some relatives can see us, which means trouble.”

“If you say so,” Nijat answered and stayed outside. He stepped aside and decided to wait for them to come out.

While in the department store, the girl in the red jacket told her friend:

“Ulker, I think he is a nice guy after all. Tidy, handsome, educated… Maybe we should agree to get to know him better, what do you think?”

“Don't talk nonsense, Jamila. How do you know what kind of person he is? If he is handsome, does it mean that he is a good man? Besides, his intentions are not clear. Maybe when we go out, he won't even recognize us.”

“Impossible. Are you kidding?”

“Of course not, I am dead serious. Let’s swap jackets and see if he can make it out?”

“It’s a deal!”

The girls were delighted at the original idea they’d come up with. They huddled in a corner and, giggling, exchanged jackets. They walked a little, then looked at themselves in the mirror and slowly went out into the street.

Nijat stood about ten meters from the exit. Seeing them, he began to approach. He went up to the girl in a green jacket and asked:

“How was shopping? Did you buy anything?” The girls laughed together.

“What are you laughing at?” the guy said, confused. “Did I say something funny?”

Jamila replied:

“You got it wrong, young man. We exchanged jackets while we were there. And you quickly forgot who you fell in love with. From now on, be attentive when choosing a girl, and now bye-bye. You can go.”

Nijat blushed intensely with embarrassment. He didn't know what to do. Then he gathered himself up and said:

“Excuse me^ I am really sorry…”

But no matter how he tried, he just could not say anything good in his own defense. He even forgot how and which way he took to reach home. In his heart, he did not stop cursing at Huseyn, who persuaded him to go after the girls: “Alright, Huseyn, you’ll see what I will do with you.”

His mother brought him tea and then, stroking his head, asked: “Dear, what should I say to your father? What did you decide?”

“Mom, I decided that you can find a daughter of one of the relatives for me to marry.”

Delighted at what she just heard, the mother, began to hug and kiss him, and then ran to pass this message to her husband.

Nijat went to the window and gazed at the dark sky.

He immediately cheered up. His anger towards Huseyn disappeared somehow. I even thought it was actually a stroke of luck. He would never have dared to marry if Hussein had not forced him to go after the girls who fooled him.

5

In my life I have met many honest and decent people. One of these is the teacher Seville, who has chosen for her the glorious profession of teaching children. I will not even mention how kind she is and how much she loves her job. Actually, the world rests on such honest people. I really think so.

When her favorite pupil, the standout Ilkin, suddenly began to fall behind, she realized that it was impossible to resolve this matter with bad marks alone. It was imperative to find out the reason for what was actually happening in the child's life. She remains multiple times to study with her pupil after classes, although this fact doesn’t add harmony to her family. But the teacher keeps pushing on and resolves to find out the reason for her pupils’ lagging behind. As a result, she comes to the conclusion that serious efforts are needed in order to save the boy, and the teacher begins to act.

A Mission

The teacher Seville had a hard time falling asleep. Every now and then she turned from side to side. She just could not get rid of the thoughts in her head. The dawn was yet to come. She glanced at her watch: it was about 4 a. m. She realized that she would hardly get any sleep, and got out of bed. She was haunted by the fact that the excellent pupil Ilkin suddenly began to lag behind, became disobedient and joined the bad guys. She could not understand what exactly happened to the boy, who was always considered an exemplary pupil, not only in the classroom, but also at school as a whole. His photograph adorned the honors board, his behavior and studies seemed to warrant a bright future.

Peering into the dim lights of the street, she decided that today was the day when she should talk to Ilkin in private and find out what was happening to him, and, if necessary, provide the necessary assistance.

Worried, the teacher left the house without even having breakfast. As soon as she came to school, she went into the classroom and made the necessary notes in the journal. After that she turned to Ilkin: