The cheering has stopped. The initial euphoria has evaporated. Now fear is once again returning to the streets of Afghanistan.
Just five days ago, Jalalabad, a once thriving trading centre in the south east of the embattled country, rejoiced as the last Taliban soldier fled their city.
Radios were turned on, TV's dug out of hiding places, burqas were discarded, and beards were shaved off.
But a rising unease is creeping back into the lives of the people of Jalalabad as various factions claim control of the town.
"Maybe we were better after all with the Taliban. At least our lives were certain then. There is nothing but uncertainty now," one man said yesterday.
Convoys of pick-up trucks with soldiers carrying what appears to be a compulsory accessory for Afghan men, AK47's, sped through the city streets. More worrying was the prominence of rocket launchers and other heavy weapons on street corners.
There were reports all day of rows between different anti-Taliban groups.
But amidst all the bickering, Mr Hadji Khadir, a brother of the murdered exiled Mujahideen commander, Abdul Haq, was declared governor of Jalalabad.
He was elected over the weekend by a Shura, or council of Muslim clerics, called by Mr Khadir himself. He had been governor of the city before the Taliban rose to power. He told The Irish Times as he left the Governor's Palace with his new cabinet that he was "very optimistic" about the future. He then walked with his cabinet to government offices to oversee the lowering of the Taliban flag.
Asked by journalists about fears expressed by the alliance of the danger of various factions in the country taking control of different provinces, he said: "Mr Bush is not our boss. We have to have a local government to try and bring peace here to our area.
"What Mr Bush and the US is concerned about is the central government. When that is in place we will co-operate.
A cabinet member announced that the new Jalalabad government would take all weapons from people and disarm the city. Judging from the amount of arms in Jalalabad, there is a tough battle ahead.
On the streets yesterday life went on as normal and the main bazaar in the centre was bustling. But despite talk of the liberation of women, few were to be seen.
Carpenter Mr Said Nabi was busy making doors. Since September 11th he has had no orders and was hoping that work would start again now the Taliban were gone.
He said however that as in pre-Taliban days his wife would still be wearing the burqa and he would be insisting his daughter wear one when she is of age.
There were reminders from local people that the new governor and most of the cabinet members were the "old boys" - part of the Northern Alliance leadership and the shaky government in place in Afghanistan before the Taliban came to power in 1996.
They are part of the same groupings responsible for blood-letting, rapes and robberies pre-1996.
"People have short memories. Don't they see that history could be repeating itself all over again" said 70-year-old Mr Shah Gulab, who held the job of overseeing the cleaning of the city in both the Taliban and Northern Alliance days."
At the Qulo Rdu military base on the outskirts of Jalalabad yesterday the remnants of the recent American bombardments were evident. Mujahideen gathered to show two huge craters left by US cluster bombs. We were warned to tread carefully.
A man appeared in the distance, a tall, noble figure with thick black curly hair and dark eyes. He had a radio blaring music in his hand and a red flower in his traditional Afghan hat. "The flower is in celebration that the Taliban is gone" he said. "I can now play music with my radio. Life can only get better." But his optimism is not shared by all people of this town.