Bottom of Darkness

Bekir Sami sadly said, “Let’s go then. Rashid may come to the hotel. I don’t suppose Halit will come tonight after all this. If he brings some armed men that’s another story.”

He stood up to go. Jamil stopped him. “Sir, that drunk told us that they might shoot at us from the houses.”
“They won’t dare to shoot at us.”

“I know, but just in case…”

“What do you propose?”

“I thought about something. We will let Farouk go first. Once he reaches the corner you will go out with Selahaddin and walk close to the houses. I will go out last. I will follow you a couple of steps behind. In case they open fire, don’t reciprocate. Farouk and I will protect you until you reach the hotel.”

“Fine.”

Fausto Zonaro

Lieutenant Farouk loaded his gun. He went out calmly.

They waited by the window.

There were dark grey clouds hanging low on top of the chimneys. The wet awnings were waving in the wind like the huge leaves of African plants. It was like walking into a dangerous African forest. Jamil heard Selahaddin’s cough. He was right behind him. Jamil didn’t know if Selahaddin was sick or nervous. They saw Farouk; he was holding his Mauser with his right hand and he was walking calmly. His coolness was unnerving. Jamil felt like he had already seen this before. He felt confused. He felt like he was losing his sense of reality.

They were looking at Farouk from the second floor. He looked even slimmer from a distance. His size  contrasted with his bravery. He reached the corner of the wall then he turned suddenly and waited like a guard on duty. The Commander said, “Let’s go, Selahaddin.”

“Yes, Sir!”

Jamil walked behind them. The caretaker was waiting by the front door with a large key in his hand. There was guilt in his blue eyes. He didn’t look trustworthy. He saluted the Commander and whispered, “Rashad suggested that you wait at the hotel, Sir. Halit will come after dark and find you there. I want you to know Sir; Rashad is my relative. We are all on your side.”

“Thank you!”

Jamil felt relieved and he went out to the street without fear. He carried his rifle in his left hand and pulled his gun out with his right hand. The street was about eight meters wide. In such a narrow street he thought using his Parabellum would be wiser. He kept his hand close to his gun and was walking with confidence. He thought about buying some bread and cheese on the way to the hotel.

As they were approaching Farouk, Jamil signaled to him to continue walking. It was getting dark. They kept on walking like this, until they reached the end of the road under the clouds. When Farouk turned the corner he saw something and stopped. “Look at this! Things are getting worse.”

Their bags were on the street by the wall. Bekir Sami’s rifle was propped up against the wall by the suitcases. Jamil said, “I will go and beat the innkeeper. No matter what!”

“If you can find him, be my guest!”

“Did he flee already?”

Bekir Sami tried to hide his fear and ordered, “Break the door down!”

Jamil smiled.“We don’t need to see his ugly face, Commander. We could go to the Military Office if you like.”

“Good thinking! Get the bags.”

We can leave the bags and the rifle, Sir. We will send Shaban to pick them up”

“Who is Shaban?”

“He is the guard at the Military Office.”

Jamil looked back; Main Street in Akhisar was empty. People were scared. Like all the creatures that panicked, they were angry. Maybe they were right to be scared but on the other hand it was wrong. He felt like spitting however, he didn’t spit. He stood tall and he looked like he was challenging someone. He didn’t look out  the windows anymore to see if there was danger. He thought that was humiliating for them to even look out the windows. Instead, he walked fast and passed his friends. When he came in front of the Military Office, he knocked on the door loudly. “Who is it?”

“Shaban, it’s me, open the door. The Commander is here!”

“Oh! the Commander is here! I am coming right away!”

Shaban rushed down the stairs to open the door. He adjusted his hat on his right side so that his blind eye would be in the shadow and he saluted the Commander. He had broad shoulders and big bones. He was bow legged like the people who rode horses from early childhood. He didn’t have time to put his cartridge belt on.

Sami Yetik

Bekir Sami entered without saluting him.

When Selahaddin and Farouk went upstairs Jamil asked, “Where is your cartridge belt? You are on duty here. I don’t want to see you like this again.” Shaban was about to leave. Jamil asked, “Where are you going?”

“To get my pistol, Sir!”

“First, listen to me; the Commander’s bags and his rifle are in front of the hotel. Go get them. After you bring them go to the store and buy some cheese, olives and some bread.”Jamil gave him one Lira. “We need cigarettes as well. Get a couple packages of the Ahali brand. Can you remember that?”

“Yes, Sir. Certainly.”

Jamil watched Shaban going away in a city filled with foreign flags. Then he closed the door.

Jamil felt confident after coming to the Military Office safely. He found himself whistling a song as he was climbed up the stairs and when he realized what he was doing, he stopped whistling.

Bekir Sami was dictating a report to Lieutenant Farouk and at the same time reading the various telegrams that he brought from the Telegram Office.  When Jamil entered the next room he saw Selahaddin stretching his arms over the desk and his eyes were closed. Jamil thought he was sleeping. Then he saw Selahaddin’s shoulders  shaking. Jamil didn’t know what to say, he wondered if Selahaddin was crying. He approached, “Are you sick, Selahaddin?”

“I am fine,” Selahaddin said without raising his head. His teeth were chattering. “It will go away soon.”

“Look at me, Selahaddin. What is it? Is it malaria?”

“Yes, it is malaria. It will pass soon.” It was hard to understand his speech because of the chattering of his teeth. “I have these fits when I am tired or when I catch a cold, sometimes when I am angry. Don’t bother  the Commander. It will pass…”

“Don’t you have Sulfate?”

“No. It is finished. I was going to get some in Balikesir, but I forgot.”

“You should lie down.”

“It’s OK.”

“No, I will go find a bed for you. When Shaban comes I will send him to the Pharmacy. I know it is difficult. The fits come unexpectedly.”

Jamil searched for a bed on the second floor. There was none. He went downstairs and found Shaban’s room. He was sleeping in a back room overlooking the yard. He decided to carry the bed upstairs. He carried the mattress and put two desks together so that he could spread the mattress over them. Shaban’s room was neat and clean. Jamil was impressed. He called Selahaddin. “Come lie down here. Take off your jacket.”

“I am fine.”

“No, I already prepared the bed. You should lie down.”

Selahaddin raised his head. His eyes were red and his lips were dry. He was trying hard to stop his teeth from chattering. He tucked his hands under his arms and curled up.

Jamil approached him and held his wrist. He had a fever. Jamil thought his temperature must be at least forty degrees and he was scared for him. He felt helpless and went to the window to look out. It was damp  and cold outside. Jamil tried to put him in bed hoping that he would get better if he laid down. “You get some rest. I will find another blanket as well. We will get you some sulfate. Then you will get better. You better carry the medicine with you at all times.” Jamil helped him untie his cartridge belt and he put it over the chair. Then he took off his shoes.  “Rest, now. You should change your clothes as you are drenched in sweat.”

Selahaddin curled up on the bed. He was very slim and shaking violently. He said, “I was mad at them. When I am mad and can’t do anything to change the situation, this happens.”Then he started to swear. He was angry at the people who were not supporting the Resistance. His mumbles became incomprehensible. He was grinding his teeth and sighing in between his words. Jamil was walking around the room trying to think of what to do. He thought of taking out another sheet from his bag but then thought it would be useless. He thought about taking his jacket off, and then he felt it was too difficult to take his cartridge belt. He checked the cupboards in the room. There wasn’t anything useful other than some old papers and files. He swore under his breath. As he was going downstairs, Shaban came. He was carrying the bags inside.“Sir, I brought them all.  I was late because…”

Jamil cut him off. “Put them over there. Bring some blankets.”

“Blankets, Sir? What Blankets?”

“Don’t you know what a blanket is? We need some. Bring all you have.”

“We don’t have many, Sir. Only the one that I am using and two extra.”

“OK! Quick, bring whatever you have!”

Shaban rushed to get the blankets for him. Jamil grabbed them from him and ran upstairs. He covered Selahaddin with them even though he knew this wouldn’t stop his shaking. Still he was disappointed at the lack of supplies here. He went back downstairs to tell Shaban to go to the pharmacy. Shaban asked, “Is someone sick?”

“Yes, Captain Selahaddin doesn’t feel well.”

Shaban guessed it was the Commander and he was relieved when he learned that it was not him. He said, “I couldn’t find any bread or cheese. That’s why I was late.”

“Why is that? Are the shops closed?”

“They are not closed. But…”

“What happened?”

“I tried both grocery shops. However…The people of Akhisar were not mean before. I don’t know what is wrong with them…”

Sami Yetik

Jamil became suspicious. Shaban was not saying anything.  Jamil asked, “What happened? Did they refuse to sell you bread?”
“The grocer told me that they didn’t have any. He said the bakeries didn’t bake enough bread today.” He smiled, “It is OK, Sir! I have enough food for us to eat today. I will cook something.  We also have very good olives…”

Jamil couldn’t believe that the people were denying them bread. He felt the same anger that Selahaddin felt before he got his fever. For a moment he thought about getting his rifle and going to the stores. Then he thought better of it. He swallowed hard two times and he passed his hand over his face. “We will worry about this later. Now I need you to go to the pharmacy to get some sulfate.” He opened his wallet and pulled out a five Lira bill. He said, “Buy as much as you can with five Liras. We might need more. Will you remember to ask for ‘Sulfate’?”

“Yes, Sir. I know sulfate is used for malaria.”

“Good. Come back quickly. Do you think they sell brandy around here?”

“I will look for some.”

“OK, then let me give you some more money.”

“That’s alright, Sir. I have enough. Good thinking. I know that brandy is good for malaria. He will get better soon after drinking some. The Major told me this before he left. Do you need anything else?”

“Get some tea and sugar as well.”

“Tea and sugar are available in Akhisar but I don’t know if they are going to sell anything to us today. They don’t want our business. I don’t know what to make of this.”

“Go, try to get them. Make sure to get the sulphate and the brandy.”

“Don’t worry. I will be back with your supplies, Sir!” Shaban adjusted his hat as he was going out.

Jamil was waiting for him by the window and counting the minutes. He was smoking. It was two minutes since Shaban left. Jamil thought, “If the pharmacist doesn’t sell him the sulphate I will get my rifle and shoot them all.” Selahaddin was talking in his sleep. “Manisa has not fallen…Bring the 10, 5 mountain Obus…It is not possible…Damn it!”

Jamil was angry at Rashad and his friends for not coming. They were ready to fight and promised to support the officers, yet they were not coming to Akhisar to see them. This was worse than the behaviour of Nizameddin who was insisting on surrendering. He checked his watch again. It was almost fifteen minutes since Shaban left. His mouth was bitter because of smoking. His stomach was hurting; he pressed his hand on his stomach. “Those cowards are going to let us starve!” He listened in  on the other room. The Commander was still dictating. “Why even bother? What is he dictating? Who is going to read those messages in Istanbul?”

Earlier, he told Bekir Sami of Selahaddin’s illness and he came to check on him. He held his wrist and checked his pulse. When Jamil said that they were getting sulfate for Selahaddin, the Commander left the room without saying anything.

Just when Jamil was wondering why Shaban was late, he saw him turning the corner. But something was wrong. He wasn’t walking normally. He was walking backwards. He was facing the other way. He had difficulty keeping his balance.  Jamil realized that some people were throwing stones at him and touched his Parabellum. Shaban turned the corner and started to run. He was carrying packages. The children were chasing and throwing stones at him. Jamil saw Gavour Efe running after the children. Shaban dropped one of the packages and he stopped to pick it up. The stones were falling close to him. He crawled. Then he stood up and tried to move forward, crouching. His leg was hurting. One of the stones hit him. He turned and tried to protect himself. He had to duck to protect his head from a large stone. Then he jumped twice to avoid the stones. The children were getting all the stones that they could find and throwing them at him while Gavur Efe was looking for especially large stones. He was trying hard to hit Shaban. He had a lot of stones in his left hand. As he was getting ready to throw the stone Shaban yelled.“ Gavour Efe! You hit my leg. What did I do to you?” He yelled at the kids,  “Why are you doing this to me? Did I do anything wrong?”

Gavour Efe said, “We told you to leave. Why don’t you obey the Government Orders? Here, that’s for you.” Gavur Efe threw another stone at him. “It serves you right! I hit your back. I wish your back was broken.”He encouraged the boys, “Keep on throwing stones. He is running away. Come on. Throw some more stones.”

Bekir Sami came in the room. “Jamil, don’t interfere. It will make things worse.” Jamil stared at him without registering what he was saying. Bekir Sami said, “Don’t kill him. We won’t gain anything by that. Probably, they are waiting for something like this. Be patient. Let’s wait for Halit, we are going to talk to him tonight!”

Bekir Sami  patted him on his back.

Gavur Efe came in front of the building. He was yelling, “Go home, Infidels! We don’t want Unionists here! This is our land. We don’t need Young Turks here! We should have burned you. I swear I’ll kill you. I won’t be happy until I kill you. You are our enemy.”

Bekir Sami went to the other room because he didn’t want to be seen.  Selahaddin was sleeping, he didn’t know what was happening. He was talking in his sleep and having difficulty breathing. Jamil put his Parabellum back in his case.  When Shaban entered the building he was laughing as if something amusing had happened. “That stupid pimp is crazy. He is drunk. He doesn’t know what he is saying.”

Hikmet Onar

“Did you get hurt?”Jamil asked.

“No. I got a couple of hits, but I am fine.”

“Did you find sulphate?”

“Yes, I did.”

“What about the tea and some sugar?”

“Sure. I bought some. It would have been difficult. Thanks to the Doctor, I got them all. He helped me!”

”Did you go to the pharmacy to get the sulphate?”

“Yes, I went to the pharmacy and I asked for the sulphate. The pharmacist was just getting the bottle from the shelf and Gavur Efe came right at that moment and threatened the pharmacist. He said, ‘if you give them any medicine you will be in trouble’. The pharmacist got intimidated and he turned away from the shelf. I said to him, ‘How come you are not selling this medicine to me? Are you crazy?’ Then Gavour Efe started yelling. He said it was the Sub-Governors orders. He was provoking the people against us. He said the Government wants us dead. I asked Gavur Efe, ‘What is this all about? Why are the people against the Officers?’ He didn’t understand what I was telling him. He continued bellowing like thunder. He was yelling so loud. Luckily, the doctor came by. He asked me what was wrong. I told him the story and he yelled at the pharmacist for not giving the medicine to me. The pharmacist whispered something to him. I didn’t hear what he said but the doctor became angrier and told him that he was taking responsibility. Then Gavur Efe started to yell at the Doctor. He said; ‘The Doctor is one of them. He supports Young Turks. He is a Freemason. Look at him, see his moustache, even his moustache is European style…”  The doctor didn’t realize that all this insults were pointed at him and he asked me what he was talking about. I explained to the doctor what happened. That made the doctor really angry. He yelled at Gavour Efe, “You pimp! How dare you talk to me like that?”

“Why do they call him that? Does he really own a brothel?”

“Yes, Sir. He owns a brothel. The only such place around here belongs to him. He used to be a rich man’s son. He lived an unruly life. He did all kinds of dirty tricks. His dad died before his time because of him. After his father had died, he didn’t have anyone to stop him. He crossed the line. He had a couple of girl friends. When he ran out of money, he started to do this business.  There are three hookers in his brothel right now. One of them is no good. But the other two are young and pretty. He is such a bad man. He is also a coward; before this he wouldn’t dare to talk to a Corporal; I don’t understand what provoked him today.”

Jamil adjusted his cartridge bell to hide his pistol. “Shaban, prepare some tea for us. I know what you mean; evil surfaces in times like this. Bring a glass of water so Selahaddin can have his medicine. Then bring some cheese and bread with the tea. Is there a big bag we could use for ammunition?”

“Yes, there is.”

“Then fill it up with the Mauser ammunition”

“Yes Sir!”

Selahaddin was almost unconscious. He had difficulty swallowing the medicine. Shaban came and asked Jamil if he wanted some soup instead of the tea. Jamil asked, “What kind of soup?”

“Bulgur soup with mint.”

“Do you have ingredients? Do you have cooking oil?”

“Yes, we have cooking oil as well as fresh mint and yogurt.”

“That’s good news.  Of course we would have some soup. I promoted you to batman.”

When Shaban left the room he looked outside. It was getting dark. He filled the glass with brandy and drank it all at once. Then he looked at Selahaddin and he realized that he filled the glass with brandy for Selahaddin, but drank it absentmindedly. He smiled and thought he needed the drink. He filled the glass again and approached the bed. Selahaddin was very sick. His face looked like he was in pain. His lips were very dry. He was licking them from time to time. “Selahaddin, look,” Selahaddin moaned. “Selahaddin, try to drink this; Shaban is preparing something to eat. You will feel better once you have this brandy.” Jamil felt his forehead. It was still very hot. He said again, “Try to drink this. You will feel better in no time. You will perspire with fever and your temperature will return to normal. Selahaddin tried to open his eyes and smile. “What is it? Has the Commander asked for me?”

“No, it is not the Commander. Come on, have some of this.”

“What is this?”

“It is  Greek brandy.”

Selahaddin tried to sit up. Jamil helped him. “Come on, swallow it.” Selahaddin swallowed the brandy as if it was fruit juice. Then he put his head on the pillow again. Jamil lit a cigarette and stared out of the window. It started to rain. He could see the dim lights of the mosque. When Shaban called them for soup, Jamil was thinking of his wife, Neriman.

Akhisar Museum

The Reluctant Warrior

by Kemal Tahir

Translated by Elif Mat