In my dream, the people of the world are divided into two. Those on the right and those on the left.
The right holds the power of weapons; the left possesses newly discovered cognitive powers. The right has killed most of the left and continues to kill them. Those on the left have been pushed into a small territory, where they are both fighting and hiding.
I am one of the people on the left, a young man. I am running across dusty, empty ground with a group of others, trying to escape. One of them hands me a small transparent plastic box. Inside are thin, elongated plastic tubes. He gives me two of them. “Use this. Then they won’t be able to see you,” he says. I take them and keep running.
I arrive in the garden of a house. A family from the right lives there with their twin daughters. The girls run towards me. I bring one of the plastic tubes to my mouth, trying to use it before they see me, but something goes wrong and they do. I think that perhaps if I stay completely still, they won’t notice me. But the cheerful twin girls come over and lift me up. They are happy to have found a friend in the middle of this war. Then I realise that because I used the tube incorrectly, I have become a child.
The girls’ father appears. He is a high-ranking commander. Over the years, he raises me alongside his daughters and watches me grow. He knows that I came from the left, but despite himself, over time, he comes to love me.
When I have grown up again, I decide to return to the left. I step out onto the balcony and look towards the old, abandoned buildings of the left in the distance. I bring the second tube to my mouth. I blow a small bubble, take it and throw it to the ground. When it comes back into my hand, I raise it to my mouth again and take a step out into the void. Blowing my breath into the bubble and imagining that I am flying, I begin to drift through the air. It is difficult at first, but soon I learn how to fly steadily. Behind me, my sisters come out onto the balcony. They are sad that I am leaving.
I land beside another family who are also returning to the left. Together, we walk through the abandoned streets, looking for somewhere to stay. In this new order, the doors of every apartment building and every flat have been removed. Each room and bathroom in what used to be a home has now been assigned as a place for a single family to live. What we once called a home has been reduced to a collection of isolated spaces.
We look into a few bathrooms and rooms, wondering whether we could all stay together. I try to imagine how we might fit. Or what will happen if we cannot.
And yet, inside this city made of ruined rooms, somewhere within myself, I am quietly happy that I can fly now.
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Ruyamda dunyadaki insanlar ikiye ayrilmis. Sagdakiler ve soldakiler.
Silah gucu sagdakilerin elinde, yeni kesfedilen bilissel gucler ise soldakilerde. Sagdakiler soldakilerin cogunu oldurmus ve oldurmeye devam ediyor. Soldakiler kucuk bir bolgede kalmislar; hem savasiyor hem de saklaniyorlar.
Ben soldakilerden biriyim, genc bir erkek. Tozlu, bos topraklarda bir grupla beraber kosuyor, kaciyorum. Gruptakilerden biri bana seffaf, kucuk plastik bir kutu uzatiyor. Icinde ince, uzun plastik tupler var. Ikisini veriyor. “Bunu kullan, o zaman seni goremezler,” diyor. Aliyorum ve kosmaya devam ediyorum.
Bir evin bahcesine variyorum. Sagdaki bir aile ikiz kizlariyla bu evde yasiyor. Kizlar kosarak yanima geliyor. Beni gormesinler diye plastik tupu kullanmak uzere agzima goturuyorum, ancak bir yanlislik oluyor ve beni goruyorlar. Oldugum yerde kipirdamazsam belki fark etmezler, diye dusunuyorum. Ama neseli ikiz kizlar gelip beni kaldiriyor. Bu savasin ortasinda bir arkadas bulduklari icin mutlular. Fark ediyorum ki tupu yanlis kullandigim icin cocuk olmusum.
Kizlarin babasi geliyor. Ust rutbeli bir komutan. Sonra yillar boyunca beni kizlariyla beraber yetistiriyor ve buyutuyor. Soldan geldigimi biliyor ama elinde olmadan, yillar icinde beni seviyor.
Tekrar buyudugumde sola geri donmeye karar veriyorum. Balkona cikiyor ve uzaklarda solun eski, terk edilmis binalarina bakiyorum. Ikinci tupu agzima goturuyorum. Kucuk bir baloncuk sisiriyorum. Baloncugu alip yere atiyorum; tekrar elime geldiginde onu agzima goturuyor ve bosluga dogru bir adim atiyorum. Nefesimi baloncuga ufleyerek ve uctugumu hayal ederek havada suzulmeye basliyorum. Baslangicta zorlaniyorum ama kisa surede dengeli ucmayi ogreniyorum. Arkamdan kiz kardeslerim balkona cikiyor. Gittigim icin uzgunler.
Sola donmekte olan baska bir ailenin yanina konuyorum. Beraber terk edilmis sokaklarda yuruyor ve kendimize kalacak bir yer ariyoruz. Yeni duzende butun apartmanlarin ve butun dairelerin kapilari sokulmus. Eskiden bir ev olan yerlerin her bir odasi ve banyosu, artik bir ailenin kalacagi ayri mekanlar olarak belirlenmis. Ev denen sey artik yalnizca tekil hacimlerden ibaret.
Birkac banyo ve odaya bakiyoruz, hep beraber kalabilir miyiz diye. Nasil sigacagimizi dusunuyorum. Ya da sigamazsak ne olacagini.
Bu yikinti odalardan olusan sehrin icinde, yine de artik ucabiliyor olduguma icten ice seviniyorum.
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