The innkeeper was not around all morning; he came upstairs
just before noon. Lieutenant Farouk was hungry; he asked the man, “What are we
going to have for lunch?”
“Let me go see what they have in the kitchen.” After saying
that the innkeeper went away and didn’t come back.
Farouk checked his watch for the third time, trying to be
discreet.
“What time it is?” Jamil asked.
“It’s past two o’clock.”
“We are hungry.” Jamil listened to the next room, “The commander
is busy with all the work. Selahaddin must be starving.”
“Where is that jerk?”
“The innkeeper? Since he is such a good host he didn’t want
to serve beans today. He wanted to go get some kebab!” He looked depressed. “By
the way he spoke to us today I get the feeling that he isn’t coming back. He
was trying to act polite but he didn’t want us here.”
Lieutenant Farouk was very hungry. He said, “ The kebab
would have been nice but I miss buttered
perch.”
“Do you miss buttered perch? Did you think about that just
now?”
“I dreamt about eating perch yesterday night. I was having
cold beer as well…”
“You went to bed hungry.”
“That’s right!”He swallowed a couple of times. He was slim
and his face was pale. “As I was eating the fish I was saying to myself that it
was only a dream.” He was silent for a while. “Nico cooks delicious fish in Beykoz. I would recommend Nico or Barb at Yenikoy for
fish. We can go there next time we are in Istanbul. Do you know the places that
I am talking about?”
“Yes, I know.”
“ I like fish.” He stared out. It was overcast. “What day it
is?”He waited then answered, “May 24th. It is the boating season already. The
boaters get prepared for the season at the end of April. They repair the boats
and paint them. They prepare the hooks, fishing lines and nets. They need a
lamp and a line full of picarel for fishing.”
“Farouk, do you like going fishing?”
Beykoz
“Yes. Everyone in my home likes fishing. Especially my uncle.
He was a well known contractor of the First Army; he is wealthy. He has many
boats of various sizes. His oarsmen are dressed so handsomely that you would
think their employer is the Governor of Egypt,
the Hidiv. He has nice horses and carriages. The coachmen are handsome as well.
In his private forest there are dozens of hunting dogs. The servants in the
house work on schedule. He likes hunting. He uses hunting rifles for partridges
and diamond rings for the pretty women. He likes me a lot because I like
hunting as well. We were always together. I had just turned eleven when I started
shooting. This gold watch is a present from him, for being a good shot.” He
closed his eyes. “When Nizam was talking earlier, I thought about shooting him.
Two bullets to his neck!” Farouk was preoccupied. “When I hit the target perfectly,
my uncle would scratch his chin and say, ‘I
thought this boy took after his deceased dad. He is not very smart but a good
shot.’ He was saying that because my dad left such a good job as an aide-de-
camp to the Sultan and went to fight in Yemen voluntarily. He called me stupid
because I left Galatasaray and insisted
on going to Kuleli Military High School!”
He looked embarrassed. “My uncle is obsessed about working for the Palace. When
I graduated from Kuleli he talked
about that, then when I came back from the Great War it was still the same. When
I told him that I was going to join the 17th Army Corps and go with
Bekir Sami, he didn’t even get angry with me. He just stared at me and said, ‘I don’t doubt that you are a misfit, son. Even
if you didn’t want a civil service job and you didn’t like living at my house here,
why would you leave Istanbul? Why would you leave all the beautiful women of
Istanbul? Don’t you have any brains? Never mention this to anyone. They’ll
think you are crazy and send you straight to the doctor. Then he’ll give you a
report, they will put it in your file that you are not well in the head and
won’t promote you to the higher ranks! Then you will spend your life working
for nothing.’
Captain, I miss going
fishing. I miss the smell of the sea. We used to go fishing even in the winter time
and we would catch perch while it was snowing and cook it in the boat. Our
hands and feet were half frozen but our hearts were warm. Captain, do you
fish?”
Jamil was not listening. He was in deep thought.
He was angry. He was breathing heavily. He thought to himself, ‘Look at the situation that we are in. This
young man is starving like a puppy. And look at those men who are not ashamed
to say that they are powerless like women. Why would Lieutenant Farouk save
Akhisar from the enemy? Was it his fault? Does he
have to carry the burden?’ Jamil said to Farouk, “Did you say something?”
“No, sir!”
They heard footsteps coming upstairs.“ Sir, we think the innkeeper
fled, but maybe he is coming back.”
“Do you think he came back to bring us food?”
“It might be someone from the restaurant.”
It was Selahaddin. He entered.“We are going to the telegram
Office. Manisa is calling. Quick. Get your rifles as well. Let’s go.”
Kuleli Military High School
The Reluctant Warrior
by Kemal Tahir
Translated by Elif Mat
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