MONSIEUR HRISTO "Monsieur Hristo," Ah Bayım Ah (1986). Ankara: Bilgi Yayınevi, pp. 109-113.

Author: Nazlı Eray Translator(s): Metis Translation Group Genre: short story/fairy tale

The janitor of the Felicity Apartment House in Şişhane, Monsieur Hristo, turned into a bird on a summer day, and flew away to Kuledibi.
His wife, Madame Marina, had gone to the market that morning, and it was only towards noon that she returned home. Since Monsieur Hristo had turned into a bird and disappeared in the direction of Kuledibi at exactly twenty past ten, no one but Monsieur David’s cross-eyed daughter Fortuna, who was playing hopscotch all by herself, was able to notice this interesting event. Fortuna, for some reason, did not pay much attention to it. After a while, she forgot all about it.
At seven to twelve, Madame Marina returned from the market. At first she did not really notice the absence of Monsieur Hristo. She had almost fainted at the market place; she was still feeling dizzy. After resting a while, she set the table, made the salad, turned on the radio and sat at the table. Wherever he was, Monsieur Hristo would definitely be home for lunch. Madame Marina was very happy to have returned home before the noon heat had set in. She sprinkled salt on a tomato and ate it; then she drank a full glass of water.
Meanwhile, Monsieur Hristo was flying over Yüksekkaldırım towards Tünel. He had no idea where he was flying to. He let himself be carried away by his wings. He was free, he was happy, and he felt forty years younger. He had not thought of Madame Marina even for a moment. Upon reaching Tünel, he stopped to decide which way to fly; he perched on the signpost at the Şişli-Nişantaşı dolmush stop. As he watched the people at the bus-stop not knowing where to go, two young pigeons came, perched next to him and started to talk about the difficulty of making a living. Monsieur Hristo was an old man; for some reason, he felt embarrassed. He began to fly in the direction of Beyoğlu as fast as he could.
When it was half past two and Monsieur Hristo had still not appeared, Madame Marina became rather worried.
She dashed out mumbling, "I wonder what’s keeping Hristo at the coffeehouse so long." Faint music was coming from the coffeehouse. Inside, it was smoky, so nothing much could be seen. On the pavement, Özgül’s elder brother Recep was playing ball. Madame Marina beckoned to Recep: "Please go and see if Uncle Hristo is in there, dear." Recep entered the coffeehouse and called out Monsieur Hristo’s name several times. Finally, Recai Efendi, the janitor, who was playing backgammon in the corner said, "Monsieur Hristo did not show up today, sonny." Recep came running out. Madame Marina was waiting, leaning against a pruned acacia tree. "Uncle Hristo hasn’t come to the coffeehouse today," said Recep.
Looking at the movie posters, on the way, Monsieur Hristo had reached Taksim. After glancing at the poster of the Taksim Cinema, he chose not to fly straight ahead and turned towards Tarlabaşı instead. He liked Tarlabaşı very much. In fact, he liked only Kuledibi and Tarlabaşı. He had hoped so much to be the janitor of an apartment house in Tarlabaşı, but it was not to be his fate.
Madame Marina waited till half past two for Monsieur Hristo to come home. At exactly two minutes past two-thirty, she rushed out. She ran to Monsieur David’s grocery store, which was on a side street. Monsieur David, his wife Madame Berta, and their daughter Fortuna were eating lunch at the back of the store. The minute Madame Marina entered the store, she lost consciousness and collapsed on a sack of beans there. At first, Monsieur David and Madame Berta could not understand what was happening. They thought she had tripped and fallen down. Madame Berta ran up to her and helped her to her feet. And Monsieur David, gathering up the empty sardine tins on the table, threw them into the garbage can outside.
While flying over Tarlabaşı, Monsieur Hristo suddenly realized that he was feeling very happy. He chased a fair plump female pigeon that happened to be passing by, all the way to Tepebaşı. Upon reaching Tepebaşı, the female pigeon began flying towards the hillsides of Kasımpaşa. Monsieur Hristo was getting quite tired. He gave up chasing the fair plump pigeon. This was annoying. He remembered that he was sixty. Perching on a wall, he watched for a while the sea glittering under the sun.
Madame Marina said, "Hristo has left me."
Madame Berta said, "My dear Marina, don’t talk silly!"
"He apparently left in the morning while I was still at the market. I asked at the coffeehouse; he hasn’t been there. He’s left me."
"Hristo is an honest man," said Monsieur David, "he wouldn’t do that."
Madame Berta put some eau de cologne on a handkerchief and wiped Madame Marina’s hands and face. "Maybe he’s off on an errand, don’t worry," she said.
Madame Marina wept quietly for a while; then she went to wash her face; she brushed her hair and pulled up her stockings.
Monsieur Hristo heard some music coming from somewhere behind him. He flew in that direction. There was a matinee performance for women only at the Tepebaşı Casino. Perihan Sözeri was singing. Monsieur Hristo perched on a tree and closed his eyes; he remained still until the end of the program. By the time the music was over it was already dark. The sound of a whistle was heard from afar. The pupils from the Evliya Çelebi Elementary School, which has two sessions a day, scattered into Kasımpaşa shouting and screaming. Monsieur Hristo flew up and came into the street.
Madame Marina, Madame Berta and Monsieur David had been arguing for three hours over whether or not they should inform the police about Monsieur Hristo’s disappearance. Finally Madame Marina said, "That’s all right; I don’t mind his running out on me. You can’t force someone to love you. It can’t be helped if he lusts after another woman."
Monsieur David and Madame Berta did not want to let her go, but Madame Marina insisted on going home. So, they had to respect her wishes.
Near the Pera Palas Hotel, Monsieur Hristo sensed that he was coming to the end of his adventure as a bird. There was hardly anybody around; he flew into a dark corner and perched on the pavement.
Madame Marina had spread their wedding and engagement photos on the bed and was looking at them. Opening the door quietly, Monsieur Hristo walked in. Upon seeing him, Madame Marina cried out: "Hristo!"
Monsieur Hristo just said, "I’m tired Marina." Madame Marina quickly folded up his bedspread and puffed up his cushion.
Monsieur Hristo got into his bed. He pulled up his quilt and turned his back. He said one Ave Maria and feel asleep immediately.

Note: I wrote this story in memory of my good friend Monsieur Hristo, the janitor in our old house. He died two years ago. Maybe he is a pigeon now in Tarlabaşı. Maybe not

Other work(s) in this website: THE FANTASY OF THE ANTIQUE MIRROR drama THE PHARAOH'S PYRAMID drama WHERE AM I? WHERE AM I? short story/fairy tale HEROSTRATUS drama1985