“Every morning, I awaken and immediately cast my gaze upon the bookshelf that houses my dreams. Tiny scraps of paper, adorned with my aspirations, cling to the glass surface like precious secrets waiting to be unveiled. In the past, I diligently inscribed my deepest desires onto these fragments, nurturing the seeds of my dreams within the fertile soil of my mind. However, as each moment passes, drawing us nearer to the arrival of spring and the dawn of a new academic year, I feel myself drifting further away from those cherished aspirations. Doubt creeps in relentlessly, casting shadows upon my hopes of advancing to the seventh grade and continuing my education.”
Sahar, a sixth-grade student in the 1402 (Solar Hijri Calendar) academic year, has completed this academic year and the past five years of schooling with top honors. Due to her intelligence, abundant talent, and strong memory, she has always been admired and noticed by her family and teachers since childhood. Alongside her consistent excellence in her school lessons, Sahar once participated in mathematics competitions under the name ‘Kangaroo’ and was chosen among the top ten students. Her past successes indicate a bright future ahead for Sahar. That’s why, despite her young age, she always plans big dreams in her mind and sets goals for herself. According to her, she was so focused on growth, success, grade ranking, and her lessons that she had forgotten about her geography and place of living.
The sixth grade swiftly passes by for Sahar, like lightning and wind, until it reaches the final days of the sixth-grade year. She says, “From October onwards, talks about this being our final academic year began. But I tried to remain indifferent to those discussions. I’ve been optimistic and not taken things too seriously. But as soon as our exams started, each of those words sank into me. I was afraid to hear them because I didn’t want this flow to stop. I wanted to keep moving forward and study my lessons and constantly be praised and encouraged. But well, reality was different. The reality was that my strong mind and intelligence in mathematics couldn’t help me change the situation. I didn’t have the power to prepare for the seventh grade from now on. I couldn’t have the opportunity to participate again in the International Mathematics Olympiad. There was no hope for improvement either.”
In the final days of the sixth grade, troubled thoughts and restless minds lead Sahar to pay less attention to exams and focus more on being with her friends: “We dragged out the last week of exams. We’d skip lunch and get to school earlier than other classes. It didn’t matter which classmate we were closer to. As soon as we met our first classmate, we’d go to the cafeteria together and get a bowl of soup from there and chat while eating. Almost all of us shared stories from the previous night’s episode of ‘Juda and Akbar.’ The story of heroism, love, and betrayal of Zahiruddin Babur. Only Zahra and Maryam from our classmates had gone to Babur’s garden in Kabul. Zahra wasn’t much into storytelling, but Maryam always enthusiastically narrated it to us. Although I knew that even leisure wasn’t possible for us at this time, I’d love to see that place up close one day.”
The final days of the sixth grade come to an end for Sahar and her classmates with tears and abundant smiles, marking the end with a longing for a new beginning. The news and rumors around the situation for Sahar and her classmates tell a tale of a doubtful start. There’s no solid possibility or reason for them to be together again in the next class. Only hope and spring can provide a clear and definitive answer to this question.
In the days leading up to the beginning of spring, they always brought a sense of relief and peace with them. It’s as if with the arrival of spring, our vitality increases, and we find an opportunity to add an extra layer to the shelf of our daily lives. Spring always heralds a new beginning and awakens a childlike excitement in our hearts, especially for students who are moving up a grade level. But this beginning and excitement in the hearts of girls like Sahar are akin to a miracle; a miracle that allows them to once again open up space for their favorite activities and pastimes, and to indulge in the small temptations they have stored in the recesses of their minds over the years, lest they experience for the first time the disappointment of remaining in the same grade and missing out on the joys of higher classes.