Pooriya, Bizhan, and I, and this little fox, decided to make a basketball team. We were one member short. So Pooriya invited us over to talk about this problem. Pooriya made us Pooriya’s special soup, and we were having soup as we were thinking of some fifth member to add to the group. Little by little we felt drowsy, just there in the middle of Pooriya’s house, and we all slept over. Blue and red lights that hit the back of my eyelids woke me up and we were all in a lush forest. I woke the kids up. The sky turned red and blue and changed color like the siren of a cop car. Bizhan took a few masks out of his bag and gave them to me, Pooriya, and the fox. These come handy here, he said. The fox said I don’t need these masks here. And kept preaching about how masks are a thing of city life and humans who deceive each other with appearances. I kicked the fox. The fox ran away and got lost in the forest. Blue and red lights were rising from behind the mountains and taking over the sky. Pooriya, who right from the outset had been staring at the sky with wide eyes and an open mouth, said: wow, what a toxic sunrise!

Bijan Nemati Sharif, Poruia Darvish, M.Smart