if it is born in flames 3
anonymous
August 12 2010, 05:33:03 UTC
They clung to each other, crying and shaking from cold. Under the soot he couldn't tell if they were Greek, Armenian, Egyptian, Jewish or Turkish, but it did not matter. A refugee was a refugee, and that was all that mattered
( ... )
if it is born in flames 4
anonymous
August 12 2010, 05:37:15 UTC
It'd been too long since he last had a man. At home waited his duties: a suitable girl met via o-miai, a family to build, his place in society to secure. The noose of the life he was expected to live was tightening. It was surely this childish desire to live rebelliously that made him want to cling on to any man, if only to reaffirm the feeling of being held in strong arms
( ... )
if it is born in flames 5
anonymous
August 12 2010, 05:47:26 UTC
I forgot to mention it in above notes, but there's violence and rape mentioned in this fill, but it's only part of mentioned war crimes and told secondhand, and not to the characters themselves if that helps on the trigger factor.For a short while, it was pandemonium. People being ushered below deck, the thick smoke in the distance, and the screams still lingering in their mind. Honda thought those sounds would never quite fade.It was Piraeus they were headed to, a place where they would be at least for the moment, safer
( ... )
if it is born in flames 6
anonymous
August 12 2010, 05:49:35 UTC
This was the way of war, the way of the conquered.
They were pushed to the waters, herded towards their deaths just as the Armenians of the past had been herded into the deserts and lonely roads to be slaughtered. He stepped over trampled, charred bodies, their faces warped in pain and fear. These images would never leave him, and they were now too stuck in Honda's mind, even if he had never witnessed them.
Who had caused the fire? The Turks? Karpusi certainly thought so. His gentle expression turned hateful as he talked about the Turks. He often lapsed into Greek, and with the way he spat out the words, they must have been vile curses. His hands balled into fists. He was made almost unrecognizable by this blind hate.
He said the word Turk itself as if it was the most blasphemous, vulgar word ever created. Through this all, Honda kept quiet and simply listened to at times rambling monologue of what had happened. When it finally came to a close, Honda shifted
( ... )
if it is born in flames 7
anonymous
August 12 2010, 05:53:08 UTC
The trip to Piraeus had gone smoothly as of yet. Honda, however, was not quite so calm. For the past few nights, he'd had dreams of Karpusi. They would start out innocently enough, but would eventually turn to the salty taste of Karpusi's lips that first time, and those wet clothes removed to reveal his body
( ... )
if it is born in flames 8
anonymous
August 12 2010, 06:53:36 UTC
Greece was already nearly bankrupt with its wars, and yet these were its people, or at least some of them were. Honda personally saw to the release of the refugees. He thought it odd that he had not seen Karpusi, nor said his goodbyes, but there were crowds he could easily get lost in. Besides, at one point, he had been called away, and Karpusi could have been in the number at that time
( ... )
if it is born in flames 9
anonymous
August 12 2010, 07:11:06 UTC
To ask someone like Karpusi to start from the beginning was a dangerous thing. So he began in his sleepy monotone, a story of how the world started.
This story didn't start with in the beginning. It started with night. Night black wings of a bird. This bird laid on a golden egg for an endless space of time. Karpusi gave extra detail to Nyx, mother of Hypnos, his favorite god. He told of her night-black wings, so dark and deep the outline was lost in the negative space of dreamless sleep
( ... )
if it is born in flames 10
anonymous
August 12 2010, 07:12:58 UTC
And so he began the tale he had read in schoolbooks, and heard from his own elders. He told of the unity, of how life was not separate. Heaven and earth were mixed together. Fire and water, air and ether. It was one seed. His was more terse, a less fanciful telling than Karpusi, but still a telling
( ... )
f it is born in flames 11
anonymous
August 12 2010, 07:26:11 UTC
Honda had a feeling that they could tell the entirety of each other's history and still have more to discuss. Talking about this was a good distraction, and distancing method.
This was how they began: hands almost touching, a hesitant threaded thought after the beginning of the world each from two different cultures and lands, each chronicling an unknowable event.
"What story do you want to hear next?" Karpusi said.
"You. Yours," Honda said. He said it shyly. He would usually not be so blunt, verging on rude, but something within him yearned to know more about Karpusi. He couldn't help himself
( ... )
if it is born in flames 12
anonymous
August 12 2010, 07:38:49 UTC
He looked out to the sea. Waves splish-sploshed against the hull. Reassuring thoughts came to mind: It is understandable, you must have been through much. He didn't say any of them
( ... )
if it is born in flames 13
anonymous
August 12 2010, 07:52:05 UTC
They returned to his quarters where they had told the beginning of the world from two lands, where they had begun between the stories that meshed together. Two cultures, two people, two
( ... )
if it is born in flames 14
anonymous
August 12 2010, 07:57:07 UTC
He began to speak of Smyrna. He talked of it as one would a lover. His face lit up as he spoke of its beauties. It had once been a proud city in ancient times, and had been destroyed, only to be rebuilt again. He spoke of the scent of oleander trees, of the taste of almonds and fruit - there was always fruit to be had of many kinds, so much that everyone subsisted on fruit, even the poorest. He recalled the ripe figs and dates, the wisteria growing, by where he lived where he often slept in the shade. He had only lived there a short time, and yet it felt more at home than the busy streets of Athens or Piraeus ever had
( ... )
if it is born in flames 15
anonymous
August 12 2010, 08:09:48 UTC
*
The Mediterranean and its clear, pristine waters was long gone. They had sailed past ancient cities, and now neared closer and closer to his homeland.
Everything was uncertain now. Honda was so tense he felt as if he would snap in two. It was only around Karpusi that he could relax.
"You've been unhappy lately..." Karpusi said. He brushed his hand over Honda's forehead. He gave him that look, the gentle, tender glance that Honda felt himself confessing to, opening up to despite his reserve
( ... )
if it is born in flames 16
anonymous
August 12 2010, 08:14:27 UTC
And yet, Honda craved dreams. He craved an escape. He lusted after foolishness and disorder. Hadn't it always been like this? Even as his family craved isolation, he was looking for the myths of other lands to sustain him
( ... )
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This was the way of war, the way of the conquered.
They were pushed to the waters, herded towards their deaths just as the Armenians of the past had been herded into the deserts and lonely roads to be slaughtered. He stepped over trampled, charred bodies, their faces warped in pain and fear. These images would never leave him, and they were now too stuck in Honda's mind, even if he had never witnessed them.
Who had caused the fire? The Turks? Karpusi certainly thought so. His gentle expression turned hateful as he talked about the Turks. He often lapsed into Greek, and with the way he spat out the words, they must have been vile curses. His hands balled into fists. He was made almost unrecognizable by this blind hate.
He said the word Turk itself as if it was the most blasphemous, vulgar word ever created. Through this all, Honda kept quiet and simply listened to at times rambling monologue of what had happened. When it finally came to a close, Honda shifted ( ... )
Reply
Reply
Reply
To ask someone like Karpusi to start from the beginning was a dangerous thing. So he began in his sleepy monotone, a story of how the world started.
This story didn't start with in the beginning. It started with night. Night black wings of a bird. This bird laid on a golden egg for an endless space of time. Karpusi gave extra detail to Nyx, mother of Hypnos, his favorite god. He told of her night-black wings, so dark and deep the outline was lost in the negative space of dreamless sleep ( ... )
Reply
Reply
This was how they began: hands almost touching, a hesitant threaded thought after the beginning of the world each from two different cultures and lands, each chronicling an unknowable event.
"What story do you want to hear next?" Karpusi said.
"You. Yours," Honda said. He said it shyly. He would usually not be so blunt, verging on rude, but something within him yearned to know more about Karpusi. He couldn't help himself ( ... )
Reply
Reply
Reply
Reply
The Mediterranean and its clear, pristine waters was long gone. They had sailed past ancient cities, and now neared closer and closer to his homeland.
Everything was uncertain now. Honda was so tense he felt as if he would snap in two. It was only around Karpusi that he could relax.
"You've been unhappy lately..." Karpusi said. He brushed his hand over Honda's forehead. He gave him that look, the gentle, tender glance that Honda felt himself confessing to, opening up to despite his reserve ( ... )
Reply
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