Love in Lilac Translated by Lois Kapila
The sun rose higher and in the lilac garden everything was painfully familiar. Arslan had only to close his eyes and he felt like he was far away, at home in Ashgabat. Back when he had been a schoolboy there, he had loved to wander amongst the lilac bushes in early spring. He had always adored their powerful scent and would sit at times for hours on some secluded bench until his head spun from the intoxicating smell and he would leave the garden, staggering. Even now, he should have left long ago but he lingered, eyes closed, lost in distant dreams. He simply didn’t have the strength to get up and walk home to the hostel. Just the very thought of all the books waiting there to be read was enough to make him crazy. Summer exams were just around the c
