Early Cranes

The ominous echo of war reached even here, deep in the rear, in a small Kyrgyz village. The oldest man left in the family was fourteen-year-old Sultanmurad—the father was at the front. One winter day, the chairman came to the unheated school where lessons were still held despite the cold. He asked the children to help the collective farm: there aren’t enough workers, and the bread must be sown. That’s how Sultanmurad’s and his friends’ childhood ended.
Early spring arrived this year. Happily, the boys greet a V-formation of cranes in the blue sky—good omen, the harvest will be. With enthusiasm and excitement they set to plowing. But one night, the boys were attacked by horse thieves…