One Village One Family

My life has changed completely recently. Now, I live in the countryside in a small village. In this village, there are thirteen houses with beautiful gardens full of cherry, apple, peach and pears trees and interesting architecture. It is surrounded with the huge untouched mountains and canyons. The thing I enjoy in this new little village is that we live like a family with the friends and share the things in our homes and abilities. Everyone has a different role and we are quite satisfied with this calm, entertaining and peaceful life. For example I teach English to the friends whereas Rob leads us to the mountains and helps us discover the fantastic natural life beyond the village. Also, he is the first aid expert. Peter makes musical instruments and he impresses us with his mini concerts during the starry nights with the sounds of the animals coming from the mountains nearby. Lisa is the tailor of the village and she is very creative. The worn or torn clothes turn to be something new in a magical way. She could be a worldwide fashion designer. Rick is the carpenter and the gardener. You never see him complaining and tired. He has a finger print on almost every house and you can always find something to pick in the gardens. We were talking the other day and he said “Oh, I wish I could work all day in the gardens and never work in the city centre.” He says, “I feel trapped and uncomfortable in the crowded streets with lots of noise and dirt around.” Sarah is the chef and she feels great when people eat and like her meals. She cooked for 40 guests on my last birthday and she didn’t let anybody enter the kitchen. The funny thing is that she doesn’t reveal the secrets of her delicious meals. On the other hand, the children disappear into the nature and enjoy making up new games together. They come home only when they are hungry and can’t find anything to eat in the countryside. All in all, life is different in this part of the world this village is the place for a healthy and colourful life.

on a freezing cold day, I was coming from walking in the mountain and trying to warm my hands with my breath. I ran out of tea and my clothes were soaking wet. I gave a short break and sat under a pine tree. I could see the misty valley of our pretty village from a long distance. Suddenly, I heard a painful sound and a big bird dropped off the tree. I got terrified but soon recovered and checked to see what was wrong with the bird. He had a broken wing and badly hurt head. I had to carry the bird to the village and did so. My friends and children were sitting around the fire and having a great fun. When they saw me exhausted with the big bird a deep silence filled the room. Then suddenly everyone hurried to see the bird with lots of noise. Rob pushed us back and he checked to see what was wrong with the bird. “Well, he needs an urgent treatment. Stand back.” He placed the bird on the table and opened his first aid kid. Then a mini operation started. The people were sitting around the table and watching fearfully. Rob wrapped the wing around a stick. After that he cleaned his head and put a bandage on it. Finally, Rob asked for help to carry the bird with care. They put him near the fireplace and covered him with a jacket.

Now, they had to wait until the bird recovered. Everybody looked sad and worried. Only the little child, Bill, was sitting next to the bird and talking to him. “Oh, poor boy, you will be fine. Don’t give up son” was the sentence he said repeatedly. After a while the little boy noticed a small ring around the bird’s leg and called his father. Rod and the others came closer and read the note written in the ring. Call us or write.  Telephone number and an email address were written. “Look at the phone code. This bird comes from our neighbour country, Greece. We should call this number immediately. Sarah had already taken the phone and called the number. It was the owner of the bird and they had lost the bird for 10 days now. After a long conversation the Greek family said they would come to the village for the bird. By the way, the bird started to move and he opened his eyes. He looked shocked and scared. Rob patted on his golden feathers and tried to make him drink some water. He drank a bit and ate some bits of bread. No one wanted to go to bed that night and they kept sitting by the fireplace and chatting.

The next day, everyone woke up with the scream of the bird. He was trying to fly but he couldn’t. Rod, Sarah and Lisa could hardly calm the bird down. They fed him and made his place more comfortable. After a short while the door was knocked. Bill opened the door. There was a middle aged couple standing at the door. They also had a little girl with them. Everyone realized that they were the owner of the bird. Lisa greeted them and invited them into the house. The bird felt happier, lively and started to chirp. Mr and Mrs Vlahos felt relieved once they saw that he was all right. I told them how I found him and how we treated him. They appreciated and thanked us many times.

The Vlahos stayed with us in the village for a week until the bird recovered fully. During their stay, they experienced the precious life of us in the village and felt that they were a part of this community. This was the beginning of a lifelong friendship with them. They invited us to stay with them and their friends in Greece and see the bird, Red Rock in his home again.  Now, we are packing our luggage and getting ready to set off. Bill is collecting worms for Red Rock.  

izmir, 01 mart 2011