February 20

In dreams I witnessed

... a peace-making meeting held in Hojalu Village by horny-palmed workmen from both sides gathering—one by one—in a shabby shack lit with a miraculously bright electric bulb above the three Azeries and three Armenians and me and two village women exchanging horny jokes and speaking some common rough language while waiting for some more participants to come ...

They say that TV news VESTI said that the town's yesterday's portion of the GRAD missiles was 240 (forty and two hundred).

At the club I saw only Shamir, the porter.

After lunch I replaced the rubber pipe from the gas stove in the kitchen to the gassier in the room with a newer one because yesterday there was an unmistakable smell of gas in the room.

The mother-in-law baked breads and sent me to the downhill town. A willing errand boy I am!

Pictures of destruction met only but too often. The most impressive are those of the smashed down TV Center and the ruins of the huge Trade Unions Block near the Upper Round Road. Just sooty walls remained there with all the inside toppled into the still smoldering heaps.

Sounds of hammering all along Kirov Street—folks mend the staved-in windows and ruined flats. Life on the edge of a live volcano goes on.

Carina's place survived intact in the yesterday's bombardment. Orliana's block-of-flats was hit by half a dozen of missiles. One of them exploded in the basement, fortunately, causing no casualties.

Sashic proposed to take all the children and their mothers to his native village. The idea sounds quite reasonable.

Upon returning, half-page from Joyce.

There were problems with my yoga: yesterday when in the Lotus, some spare part in my left knee slipped out of its place. I clicked it in, but the pain from the dislocation had been felt ever since. That's why my today's yoga was far from perfect.

Supper.

The mother-in-law and Roozahna went to the Underground. Ahshaut and Sahtik are still home.

The day was quite quiet; she wants to stay home tonight, but feels afraid.

The water-walk awaits me. So – Good night.

P.S.: Two minutes after the "Good night" a few separate bursts scared Sahtik away. I saw them to the Underground. Shelling never subsided during all the water-walk. When I was back home, two massive GRAD volleys hit the night town.