Reading ‘FEAST OF THE DEAD January changed the color of the air, Under the ash-colored sky, the world seemed grimmer. People went out only for work. The streets, especially the back streets, often stretched bare and empty. There was nobody under the oak trees, in the courtyards of the mosques, at the fountains - the spots of coolness and gathering places for the children of the street in the summer. The fountains were never completely deserted. ‘Almost every day there would be someone to go there to fetch the day's water. ‘A boy who had been to the fountain for water that noon ran back to his street panting, and told the first man he saw: “Dursun Agha is dead!” ‘Dursun Agha was a familiar figure of the street. He was about fifty; a sturdy man with a round black beard. He was the water cartier, who barely made both ends meet, ‘with a wife and two children in his small, two-storey house. His entire capital consisted of two water cans and a pole, with a chain dangling from either end. Mounting the pole ‘on his shoulder every morning, hooking the cans by their handles to the chains, he set cout with his first call, in his own street: “Water. Anybody need water?” His low, resonant voice could carry as far as the last house in the street. ‘Those who needed water would call back, “Dursun Agha, one trip,” or “Two trips,” or “Three trips.” “One trip” meant two cans of water. Then Dursun Agha would climb up to the fountain and to the houses all day long. He got three kurush for each trip; this way of eaming the day's ‘bread was like digging a well with a needle, earning it drop by drop. If they had to rely only on his earnings, it would have been impossible to feed four mouths; ‘but thank God, his wife Gulnaz was called upon three or four times a week, as a charwoman, Within the limited ‘opportunities of her work, she tried to help her husband earn just a little bit ‘more, cheating in small ways that were pathetic, harmless, and even innocent — using up a little extra water, just a can or two so that her husband could eam a few more three kurush. Now all this h discovered. After h {0 stand up on the is glass with water c: because of the load the tap. Who coul Agha, one could so would have thought and durable, he cou! anything but an ace Anybody could fall Perhaps they cou Support their family. pole, What was Guinaz not easy to be left alor she feed these two me Temembered all the w: of the water anymore, ‘tween using much w being a charwoman alt a thing to hate ~ there v to see or hear it. When death occur household forgets is foc ‘most, but as soon as a ‘Someone in the house s the return to the usual ¢ It is a Moslem h bereaved heal — at the corner. Raj mile off that this was ‘Agha died, the maid fs Guinaz’ house and Tang t broth, some meat with a Tote the truth, no -lifted from the es there gathered around the table before, or maybe because exceptionally delicious. I at suppertime and satisfy1 sky, the world seemed y the back streets, often 1s, in the courtyards of athering places for the er completely deserted. n the day's water. ran back to his street pout fifty; a sturdy man y made both ends meet, entire capital consisted end. Mounting the pole es to the chains, he set Now all this had ended suddenly. The cause of Dursun Agha’s death was soon discovered, After he had hooked the brimful cans to the pole, he had slipped while trying to stand up on the ice that had hardened during the night before, ice polished slippery as glass ‘with water continuously dripping over it. He could not get his balance again because of the load of full water cans, and he had hit his head on the stone bow! under the tap. Who could ever have expected him to die so suddenly? Looking at Dursun Agha, one could sooner imagine a stone being fragile and getting hurt. But he? Who would have thought that he could smash his skull? However, even if'a man looked tough and durable, he could die, just like that, all of a sudden. ‘When Gulnaz heard the news, she froze. Could this be the punishment for her little tricks, for her cheating? No; oh no, God could not be that cruel. ‘This could not be anything but an accident. There were witnesses: he slipped, fell down, and died. Anybody could fall this way and die. Perhaps they could, but at least they would have left something behind them to support their family. All the estate that Dursun Agha had left was his two cans and a pole, ‘What was Gulnaz going to do now? She thought but could make no decision. It was not easy to be left alone with two children, one nine years old, the other six. How could she feed these two mouths by washing clothes only twice or three times a week? She remembered all the water she had used up so freely. She might just as well not think of the water anymore, In an instant all had changed. Now there was no difference between using much water or using little. If she could only find a way out and give up being a charwoman altogether. The water she had loved so long had suddenly become a thing to hate — there was treachery in its glitter, enmity in its flow. She no more wanted to see or hear it, ‘ ‘When death occurs in a house, no one thinks of cooking. The first thing the household forgets is food. This goes on for thirty-six or maybe forty-eight hours at the ‘most, but as soon as a gnawing is felt in the stomachs, or a listlessness in the limbs, someone in the house says, “Come, we must have food,” and thus, with eating, starts the retum to the usual course of living. It is a Moslem tradition for the neighbors to send food, for a day or two, to the bereaved household, The first meal came to Gulnaz and her children from the white house at the comet. Raif Efendi, the businessman, lived there. One could see from a mile off that this was the home of a wealthy man, At noon on the day after Dursun ‘Agha died, the maid from the white house appeared with a large tray in her hands at Gulnaz’ house and rang the bell. On the tray were dishes of noodles cooked in chicken broth, some meat with a good rich sauce, cheese rolls, and sweets. To tell the truth, no one had thought of eating that day; but as soon as the cover was lifted from the tray there was a giving in, a relaxation of feelings. Silently they all gathered around the table. Maybe it was because they had never had such good food before, or maybe because pain had sharpened their senses, but they all found the food exceptionally delicious. Having eaten once, they found it natural to sit around the table at suppertime and satisfy their hunger with the left-over of tfieir lunch, 133‘Another neighbor took care of the food for the next day. This went for three or four days. Of course, none of the later meals was as tasty or as generous as the trayful from the white house, but they were all a great deal better than any that was ever cooked. in Gulnaz’ pot. If this had only continued, Gulnaz. and her children could easily have borne their sorrow to the end of their lives, but when the trays stopped coming in and the coal which they were buying pound by pound from the store on the main street could not be bought any more, they began to realize that their sorrow was unbearable. The first day food stopped coming in, they kept their hopes up till noontime, running to the door with the sound of each footstep in the street outside, hoping to see a big tray with a white cloth cover over it. But instead they saw people simply going about their daily lives merely passing by, their empty hands hanging at the ends of their arms. At suppertime, they realized that no one was going to bring food, so they had to cook at home as they had done before. They had gotten used to quite another type of food during the past few days and found it difficult to readjust to the meager dish of potatoes. Gulnaz had cooked with hardly a trace of butter, They had no choice but to get used to it again. They were not really hungry for about three or four days, until their staples were all used up. But then they ran out of butter, flour, and potatoes. For the next few days they ate whatever they found here and there in the house: two onions, one clove of garlic, a handful of dry lime beans found in the comer of the cupboard. Finally, there came a day when all the pots, baskets, bottles, and boxes in the house were empty. That day, for the first time, they went to bed on empty stomachs. The next day was the same. In the later afternoon, the little boy started crying, “Mother, it hurts inside!” His mother said, “Be patient, children, be patient just a little! Something must happen!” They all felt that their stomachs had shrunk to the size of a baby’s fist. They all felt dizzy when standing up ~ it was best to lie flat on the back; then you felt as if you were dreaming. They all saw green-and-red forms fluttering in front of their eyes; there was also a hollow, echoing sound in their ears. They noticed their voices were gradually getting softer. The day after, Gulni needed a charwoman, Y morning: “Tell Gulnaz | to look at a pail of wate street thought it would be “sorrow must be gnawing That morning no one food. The little boy talke out his hand as if to gra ‘The older boy saw si to have savored them wh share at once, when What he would do; he wo Gulnaz lay in her bed, not to cry out, tears flow went on’as before. She c this street where she had A door closed. The li the door. If it had been t two brothers are so differ slowly. That is the mothe ‘out for shopping. More f in the red house at the end to open up his shop on th Idris Agha, the jobber; he this street as soon as he fi teacher, Nuriye Hanim. 1 Cemil Bey, the tax collect Bey’s house. “He comes ¢ both sides of the horse are far away. It was the older boy wi his brother. The younger b eyes met. The younger ot The sound was comipg around her to go out. She could pay when she got mot the door. Her whole attent of hoofs crushed her courag a few steps away, they fore larger, stared at this food, th were so wide that they cov almost touched the ground.