Sunday Story/ Sunday Morning…

2024-03-31 15:26:00, Kulturë Agim Xhafka

Journalist Agim Xhafka

The day was so beautiful, but I got dark as soon as I stepped out onto the boulevard. I enjoyed the sun, the warmth of the end of March, the excitement of Sunday, so I decided to go on a picnic with my wife, grandson and granddaughter in Vlora.

We will spend the day at the beautiful Lungomare and we will have lunch there by the waves at famous restaurants. That's all I said and I took the "Jeep" out of the garage. I headed home and near the "Edith Durham" school I saw an old man hugging the trunk of a wild chestnut tree and slowly, like a worm walking, he was sliding down. When I was by his side, I saw him lie down. He released his hands from the trunk and began to move with spasms. It looked like he was giving up.

I stopped and started running. I grabbed him by the shoulders, lifted him from the ground, took him up with great effort because it was a heavy weight. He opened his eyes. I was happy, he is alive, I said to myself and was rushing to the car. It seemed too late to call an ambulance. In ten minutes, I quickly take him to the emergency room, I thought because it was Sunday and there was no traffic yet. It was early. As soon as I eased him into the back seat, he let out a question:

- Where are you taking me?

He didn't wait for an answer because his head hung on his chest again. I stretched him across the seat and was shocked not by his question but by his voice. It sounded very familiar to me. I didn't have time to think. I got in and started the car. As soon as I entered the message, it came to me again:

- Where are you taking me?

I could not see his face because he was lying down and the mirror did not capture it. But that voice, ah, that voice reminded me of Pilo Rakon. The most disgusting man on earth, the most hated on the globe. The monster that caused me so much trouble and problems. Of course these epithets were for him in relation to me. I don't know how he behaved with others. My eyes got dark. I was ready to throw it on the street. I took her off the SUV because it seemed to me that she was getting smeared with his dirt. At that moment, for a few seconds, my life passed like a fast-paced movie.

Pilo Rako was initially my teacher when I was in the last year of high school. When he came he was very young. He shared only a few years with us. So he looked at our friends with hot passion. But they also liked him since he was a pretty boy. So far everything is fine. Until bad luck overtook me.

He started hunting Cosette, my friend. She was the most beautiful girl in high school. Pilo was so obsessed with her that he did not hide not only the teasing looks, but also the scandalous actions. How many times even during the lesson he almost grabbed Cosette by force, bringing her closer to his body with an open threat, either you will tie me up, or I will tie you up with the rest of the class. The girl was shocked at first.

Then he revolted, resisted and out of panic came closer to me. It was as if I was a shield for her and she felt good when I was by her side. Pilo accused me of hindering the relationship with him. I was convinced that Kozeta loved me and wouldn't trade me for anyone. Really we were just friends. That's it. Since that day my life became barren. Not because I received negative grades, but because I received endless disciplinary measures. For everything that happened, the blame stuck with me. For example, the school door would break and the principal would call me.

Pilo fabricated witnesses and I was already punished. Until in one action I was called a saboteur because the tails of the shovels were all cut with a saw. The committee was alerted. I was called an enemy of state property. They called my father, they proved to him with the statements of some of my friends that I was like that. My heart trembled for my father for taking them for truth.

Cosette almost gave up. I was in pain and was about to connect with Pilo when disaster struck. Pilo was appointed principal of the gymnasium. We got depressed. We had no idea what he would do for us. And we expected the worst. She reached me first. Pilo gathered the class and proposed that I be expelled from school. He did not say the motive. And I didn't ask for it. I knew he would make it happen.

I imagined myself at home when my father would get sick from pain, when my mother would not want to cry. They dreamed about me whiteness and things full of light. Lo and behold, a pile of carrion ruined everything for us. In those days I decided to leave school myself. Better than exclusion would be. One morning, when I was taking a statement with the school dropout, I learned that Pilo left us.

- He died, didn't he? - I asked happily.

- No, they transferred him to the ministry, - teacher Rizai told me.

We celebrated like high school. We had so much fun that we felt like we were having prom dinner that day. This monster brought me to mind lying on the seat of my car.

- Where did you go this beautiful morning, trash? Why did you ruin my day, you piece of trash? How come you didn't collapse in the street after five minutes like I did, you piece of trash?

I continued with these questions and the solution hit me in the head like a hammer; don't take him to the hospital.! Take it to where it was and leave the butt of the wild chestnut! I was about to say to myself, that's what I'll do. No worries. I don't heal this trash, I don't help it. Here, I'm turning off the car. Here, I'm taking it out. Now.

But I couldn't act. I did not follow any of these. I knew he was worth less than a worm. It had to be crushed with the foot. As he crushed me. This is how far my reasoning went. Then I got stuck. I thought that I would take him to the hospital, he would recover and then, when he met me, he would invent some slanderous slander. He really didn't have anything in hand now, but he never gave up on evil. I got out of the car between these two. I saw a middle-aged man on the sidewalk.

- Can you drive a car? - I asked her.

- I know.

- Can you take me and this, (I was going to tell my uncle, but I bit my tongue), this old man who fell now here at this tree to the hospital? I was driving it myself, I was very shocked and I can't drive the car. See how my hands are shaking!

He didn't mince words. When we got to the emergency room, some nurses came with a gray stretcher. They took it.

How did you help the clock, I wondered? How? He is not human. I know I know. But I remained human, I explained the actions of that morning. The sun was warming and the picnic was waiting for me. You can't buy the past, bro. Not even fixed, I talked to myself again and then felt relieved. I pressed the gas hard. The car was almost flying. As if she too was freed from Pilo Kërma...