It was a time of war. One of the bombings destroyed an orphanage. Many were killed and wounded. They sought help from the local hospital.


When the military doctor and the nurse arrived, they found that the condition of a wounded girl, Zerin, was critical, and she would die without a blood transfusion. But at the moment, they did not have her blood type. There was also no suitable donor among the doctors and staff at the shelter. The children who survived the attack remained. They explained to the little boys and girls that they needed someone of them needed to give of his blood to save Zerin's life. The children looked at them in horror and fell silent. After a while, a trembling hand came out of the group.


"Thank you, Ali!" said the nurse from the shelter. "I knew you'd want to help. You are inseparable from Zerin…"


"I want her okay. She'll be fine, won't she?” Ali asked in a trembling voice.


The nurse nodded, placed the boy on the couch, and inserted the needle into his vein. They took a sample and fortunately the child was really of the same blood type. They could now begin the blood transfusion.


Ali lay motionless and silent. When the overflow began, he smiled as he saw the colour of Zerin's face returning to life. Then his face turned pale and his smile disappeared. The child looked at the doctor and asked in a trembling voice, "Will I start dying immediately?" Because he was so small, he didn't understand the doctor well when he explained the process of blood transfusion. He thought he would have to give all his blood, and he would not be alive to live with his beloved, Zerin.


"But then why did you agree?" The doctor asked him.


"Because I love her."---simply replied the boy.