Editor's Note: On August 12, the Taliban's rapid advance and seizure of Kandahar, Afghanistan's second largest city, took the country (and the world) off guard. Fear gripped Afghans as a repeat of the Taliban's tumultuous rule may once again become a reality. But as an eerie calm settled in the city in the days that followed, some welcomed the return of the Taliban and the sense of security and change they may bring after 20 years of war.

On the evening of August 12, we were sitting at home when there was a sudden tremor – a bomb exploded near our house. We then went to our garage and stayed there for the whole night. For a moment I thought I would die and everything was over. I said to myself: no more education, no more life, I will die now.

That was the worst night in my life. That entire night was spent in shock and fighting.

The next morning, we heard that Kandahar was taken over by the Taliban.

That morning, the entire city was quiet. People all stayed at home, scared.

It was August 13 that the Taliban released a voice clip of one of their leaders in their media message group, saying that everything was normal now, and that everyone can come out of their houses and go back to work. The Taliban said they were not forbidding people from doing things.

Now it's calm Kandahar. On August 18, I went to a bazaar and found everything was as normal. People came out to do their own jobs. And so far, we haven't heard any news of death since the Taliban came. Things are getting back to normal. The bazaar is as normal as the other days.

In fact, I feel the situation in Kandahar is even better than before. Because Kandahar is one of the cities where the intense war took place, so in the past, we would hear bomb blasts and news about killings and deaths every day. Not it's better, because we need peace, we need comfortable life, we need happy life. And because of this hope, we feel it's better now. Many people are happy because they think the war is over and they will live safely.

Some of the districts in Kandahar were captured by Taliban years ago but the Taliban only came to the center of Kandahar recently. Before they arrived, people were scared that we might go back 20 years. But we were surprised because it seems that their plans and policies have changed. Before, they used to beat women and force them or bully them, but now it's not like that.

But still, many people are hesitant to welcome the Taliban. Because in their minds Taliban is still like 20 years ago. And they think there will be war again. And these people would like to judge Taliban by their actions not by their words.