The Peace Machine by Oezguer Mumcu

Author:Oezguer Mumcu [Mark David Wyers]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781782273974
Publisher: Steerforth Press
Published: 2018-11-14T16:00:00+00:00

9

The Doomed Palace

“ONCE UPON A TIME a king was travelling through his lands, and as he gazed upon the Bojana River from the top of a hill, he caught sight of a rocky outcrop on the riverbank. ‘There,’ he said, ‘is where I will build my palace.’

“So he summoned his two brothers to help him. One of them was a voivode who ruled over towns and vast fields, and his domain even included a mountain. The other brother was a cheerful, carefree man who brought joy to the hearts of others, but he spent much of his time alone writing under mulberry trees, the juice dripping from the berries staining the pages of poems that he never shared with anyone.

“When they received the summons, they set out to see their brother, one riding a bay horse and the other a sorrel horse.

“The king showed them the outcrop on the banks of the river where he planned to build his palace. The voivode and the poet were pleased with the king’s decision and they promised to help him, for in those times even kings helped in the building of palaces. And so every day they toiled all day long, but in the morning they would see that their work lay in ruins.”

Vesna paused for a moment and looked down at her nephew, who was lying on the divan with his head in her lap. Taking the book in her other hand, she went on reading:

“Years passed and every day it was the same. Everything they had built the day before would be lying in ruins. They posted sentries to watch over their work and they used only the finest stone, but all was in vain. One day before the break of dawn the king mounted his white horse and went down to keep watch over the foundation they had laid the day before. As the sun rose, the earth started rumbling and within seconds the foundation was reduced to rubble.”

Vesna wrinkled her face and said, “Shall I read a different story? I’m getting a bit bored of this one.” But the boy protested so vehemently that she turned back to the book.

“When the earth shook and rumbled, the king’s horse reared up in fear, throwing the king to the ground. He rolled down the slope all the way to the water and his fine golden robe lined with badger fur was ripped and torn. Badly wounded, the king barely managed to pull himself out of the water. Just then a witch with hair down to her ankles emerged from the river. ‘Vukavic, you are toiling in vain,’ she said. Walking across the water towards the king, she added, ‘The foundation is flawed. Even if you toil for a thousand days, you will find it in ruins every morning.’”

Vesna’s expression betrayed her dislike for the tale. Worried that the unhappy ending of the story would upset her nephew she decided to find another one, but just then someone knocked on the door.

Breathing

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