He picked up a small, unfinished copper plate. For forty years, he had been engraving it only at sunset. It wasn't a pattern of flowers or geometric stars. It was a map of a face he was slowly forgetting, etched one tiny stroke at a time, only when the "qem" (sadness) arrived to guide his hand.
The phrase "Yene AxΕam Oldu, Qem Qelbime Doldu" (Again evening has come, and sadness has filled my heart) is a hauntingly beautiful line from Azerbaijani folk and classical music. It evokes the "Qeriblik"βthe feeling of being a stranger or away from home. Yene Axsam Oldu Qem Qelbime Doldu
π‘ In Azerbaijani culture, evening is often a symbol of: He picked up a small, unfinished copper plate