Stories Scratched on the Wall
Golden Medal
In 1994 mother sold her golden medal[i] at Dry Bridge market[ii]. Her childhood and her schooldays were valued at 35 US dollars. The buyer was a foreigner, probably a diplomat. In those days, tourists did not come to Georgia.
Forgotten War
When one goes to Tbilisi airport to see someone off or welcome them, a late spring or early autumn warm breeze always reminds him of war.
It was September. Beyond the iron fence of the airport, the volunteers defending Sokhumi were ascending the airplane steps. He clearly remembers dishevelled people with the guns over their shoulders slowly striding over the rungs. He himself, a newly appointed employee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was accompanying two departing foreign officials. Back then, he saw that as something routine. Later he realised that that fence divided the world into two parts – a game played with death and played with life. And now, when he recalls that warm September Tbilisi evening when awake or in his dream, he can swap sides of the fence without any hesitation.
Demons
When I think that I have tamed my monsters and locked them in a cage, exactly at that moment, I realise that the bars are made of glass.
Mist
Peers of my generation killed 25-30 years ago. Their faces have been already withering behind the dark curtain of time. My face will also turn pale in the same way when its time comes. 'No one remembers the former generations, and even those yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow them.' Ecclesiastes 1:11[iii]
Strawberry Liquor
The Soviet Union was a strange country. Brandy was sold that purported to be Cognac, but there was no whisky then. Fizzy wine, which even more outrageously, was called champagne, was vended too, but there were no liquors. Neither gin nor tequila were traded. All this stuff appeared later, along with independence of Georgia and the tricolour flag. Most spirits were bottled in bathrooms. Thank God that we were not blinded by methyl alcohol. I have seen people eating roast meat, followed by strawberry liquor. They did not know. We did not know. We did not know many things yet. We don't know them now either.
Time
The autumn sea was peaceful and the beach was empty. He inhaled deeply to smell the odour of iodine. Although he went to the sea every year, he did not particularly like it. The sea evoked a vague sadness in him. He threw stones into the water and watched as the water collapsed into concentric circles. Then he began throwing flat stones, counting how many times they skipped on the surface of the water. On this day of suicide, he was merely passing time.
A Tree
Somewhere a tree grows, from which my coffin will be made.
Wife
He looks at his closest friend - his wife. The years show themselves – wrinkles on her neck and near the eyes. He himself had already turned grey. His heart fills with tranquillity and hope. The end of everything, or rather the beginning of everything, not quite yet, but already appeared on the horizon. He wants a peaceful old age and preparation for a leap into the unknown.
Water in a Bottle
He won the scholarship from the English, in those days of darkness and light when all nerves were on edge. It took him a day and a half to get to Lancaster – by plane, train and bus. Tired from travelling, he finally reached the university dormitory; took the key to the room from the porter who was swollen from drinking.
ჩუქება
