You have waited till September to be able to cross borders via road. Most of the countries have evacuated their embassies from Kabul by now. The embassies are now functioning from Islamabad, Pakistan. The Romanian Embassy is suggesting you cross the border and reach Pakistan, by road, and then they will manage your journey to Romania from there.

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At midnight, your elder sister gets a call from the embassy. You are asked to pack, rent a car and leave with the family for Pakistan, at your own expense and responsibility, and from there, the Romanian Embassy will take care.

In two hours, you are able to rent a car to cross the border, and the journey begins…

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Your driver is Pashtun, and you realize that you got lucky with him since he can communicate in Pashto with the Talibs at checkpoints. 

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You see the first Taliban checkpoint, and the driver suggests a plan— you act like the driver is your father, and he will be the one talking to the Talibs. You are stopped at the checkpoint, and a Talib approaches your car. He knocks at the window and asks the driver where you are headed, and why? As planned, the driver tells him that we are going on a family vacation to Pakistan. To our surprise, he lets us go. 

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One, after another, you clear all the checkpoints, and then comes the last Taliban checkpoint. Talib approaches your vehicle, the conversation doesn't go as planned.

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He now moves towards your family and asks for your IDs. Your Afghanistan ID shows your tribe, the area of the country where you belong to. Your tribe is known to be one of those who opposed the Taliban regime in 1995. You are thus scared to show your ID. 

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You decide to