By Reshat Kripa
The tenth part
-“People who have never known dictatorship and tyranny find it easy to give in to the rhetoric about freedom, forgetting the simple and terrible reality of oppressing the mind where it exists consciously”.-
Giovani Sartori: “Once again for the theory of democracy”.
Memorie.al/ Robert Krasta, had made it a habit that on every anniversary of his parents, he would go to the cemetery and place a bunch of flowers on their grave. He would look at the picture stamped on the porcelain and start a conversation with them. He had been doing this habit for a long time. The conversation seemed to soothe his soul. He told them about everything that had happened in the family. Sometimes, when he found difficulty in something, he asked them for help, and it seemed to him that they answered him. Perhaps this could be some guess of his own, yet he believed it.
Continues from the previous issue
They passed a short corridor, went down some stairs and found themselves in the long row of cells. From there, through several other stairs, they went down to the compartment where the torture chambers were located. The investigator, Demiri, opened a door and they saw Agron tied by his hands and feet to the wall hooks. They both let out a scream and began to sob. Irida rushed forward and, holding her father’s legs, began to speak through the tears that flowed down her cheeks:
– Dad, what did they do to you? Why?
Demir intervened and pulled him away. Ilia carried Lumto.
– It depends only on him. He must feel sorry for your tears. It is enough to accept what he has done.
– You are black-hearted criminals! I have not done anything.
– My, do you hear? – addressed Demiri Lumto. – He still won’t tell. You said that maybe he obeys.
Lumtua thought that by her speaking to him, he might agree to speak. For the sake of her and Irida, he would be willing to do anything. But in an instant, he thought of his character. He knew that character very well. She knew that he would never forgive her if he made such a proposal. She decided to stay like him, indomitable.
– He has his own character. I know for myself whether he has done something or not. I can’t make him admit to something he says he didn’t do.
– Right? Then you are forcing us to use the other method. – His hand was inserted between Irida’s thighs, – Good thighs!
– Let’s go! – shouted Irida, howling
– Leave the girl! – called Lumturia and started towards her, but was stopped by Ilia, who started to open her breasts and squeeze them.
– Let the scoundrels go! – Agron’s meek voice was heard.
Fortunately, he felt himself in a rather difficult position. It never occurred to him that they could get this far. Irida stared with wide eyes, not understanding what was happening.
– Agron! – cried Lumtua, drowning in tears.
– Dad, dad, dad, help me! – repeated Irida.
– Hey, how about we continue?
Agron writhed in the hooks where he had been tied. He tried to untie himself and jump on top of those two jackals, but it was useless. As he saw that there was no other way out, since they could do anything, he said:
– Stop! Make me sign what you want.
The pride of the noble man was finally broken. He was horrified by what he would see, who, until those moments, was someone, without waiting or remembering, had turned into a nobody. He was beginning to fall into the abyss. He could no longer be called a man. He had turned into a person without principles, without morals. He was completely depersonalized.
Demir took his hands off the girl. So does Ilia.
– Take it and wait there, – said Demiri, winking at Ilias.
They came out. Demiri called Myfiti and ordered him to take Agron and take him to his office.
– You also stay there until I return.
Myfit took Agroni and headed upstairs.
Demiri headed to the first room next to the torture room. He opened the door and saw Ilia trying to lie down on a table where Lumton was, threatening him with cobras.
– Animal, animal, animal! – She shouted.
– Good evening! – said Demiri and headed from the other room.
He opened the door and saw Irida completely confused, as if sleepily talking to herself.
– Dad, dad, dad, – then it was written in oil.
– Tomorrow dad will come home, let’s celebrate today together.
He unbuttoned her blouse and exposed her small breasts. He started to squeeze her hard and bite her. She kept crying and calling her father. Her screams were drowned inside the concrete walls. They were all powerful over those two poor victims. The savages had caught the prey and were tearing it to pieces without mercy.
Isufi was sitting at the gate, where Demiri had appointed him to answer anyone who might ask about something. He had seen Ilian enter with two women and asked the “Gaz” driver who brought them:
– O Selim, who were those two?
– They are the relatives of a prisoner. They have come for a showdown.
He found this encounter in the middle of the night strange, but he did not elaborate. After all, it was common there for questions to be asked after midnight. It was a known practice. More than half an hour had passed since their arrival, when an old woman appeared at the doors of the Inner Branch. Isufi recognized the old woman who had come to look for the mayor a month ago.
– I’m sorry, son, but I want to meet the head of the branch. Tell him that mother Gjyla, the wife of the martyr of the National Liberation War, Bexhet Canaj, has arrived.
– Now it’s night, my mother! Then the chairman is not here at all.
– How is it not here? I was told by your officer that it is here.
– Which officer told you?
– The one who took the bride and granddaughter. He said that by order of the mayor, they would meet with my son, who is locked up here.
– What is your son’s name?
– Agron Canaj.
A shadow of doubt crossed Isuf’s mind. The two women who entered half an hour ago, now the old woman, and the word you just said to operative Ilia about the mayor, who was not in town at all, made him think. Something suspicious was brewing. He knew Agron. He had accompanied him to cell number seven. He felt very sorry for her and tried to help her. He called a policeman and told him to stay in his place for a while, that he would go to look for investigator Demir.
– Mother, I will go to look for him, – he said to the old woman.
– Thank you, my son! May God reward him for good!
– Where is God? – said the policeman who just received the service.
– He got a son, yes. He is everywhere. Even in your conscience that says there is no God, he exists. Ishallah does not test evil, but if you are in trouble, you will know where God is.
Isufi went to Demir’s office. There he saw Agron sitting on a chair and Myfit next to him.
– Where is friend Demir?
– Down in the dungeons, now it comes.
He went to the prisoners’ cells. Apart from the shuttered doors, he saw no one else.
– It must be in the special room, – he thought.
He went downstairs and headed there. There was no one in the special room. He thought he heard a groan and behind it a voice crying. The voice came from the next room. From the other room, hysterical laughter could be heard. The door of the first room was slightly open. He pushed him and saw investigator Ilia naked on top of a woman. She was sobbing. He closed the door and headed to the other room. From inside a voice could be heard crying and laughing. He also heard a man’s voice saying:
– Here’s a little more, enjoy my plum!
These words were accompanied by a groan. He recognized Demir’s voice and understood everything. He was shocked. The meanness of those two left him speechless. What to do? To walk away and leave as if he hadn’t seen anything? This was impossible. It would stay. Those who witnessed their shameful act looked at him. The door of the first room opened and Ilia came out with Lumto in tears. When he saw the sergeant, he was shocked.
– What are you looking for here?
– I want to meet friend Demir. Agron’s mother has arrived and is looking for her daughter-in-law and granddaughter.
Ilia changed her tone. He thought of doing it for himself on the sly.
– Will you try it? – He said with a wink.
– It is very good. Try it! Don’t miss the chance.
– Thank you, I don’t need it, – answered Isufi emphatically.
Meanwhile, the other gate opened and Demiri came out, followed by Irida. The girl’s eyes were unfocused. His face was distorted. She had taken on the appearance of a madwoman. He continued to cry and laugh at the same time and stuttered:
– Dad, dad, dad…!
– What did you do to the girl? – cried Lumtua and put him in her lap.
– Shut up! If you say a word, you two and that mulehead of yours will be gone within twenty-four hours. Keep this in mind.
Then, turning to Isufi, he said in a harsh tone:
– What about you?
– I came because Agron’s mother is looking for you.
– Why?
– You know that.
– Fine, fine. Take it and walk out. Tell Selim to take them home. Take the old lady too.
He took them and left. When she saw them in that state, mother Gjyla was extremely shocked.
– What happened to the girl?
– Nothing! He was shocked when he met his father, – said Lumtua, gathering himself. He didn’t want to let his mother-in-law know.
They got into the car and left. Isufi dismissed the policeman who replaced him and was sitting at the gate, imagining the scenes he had seen.
Demiri, meanwhile, had returned to his office and kicked Myfit out. He opened the drawer of the table and took out from there a document printed on many pages and, addressing Agron, said:
– Will I read it?
Agron did not speak. It started to feel cold. He was shaking all over.
– Then sign it! Write your first name, last name and put your signature on each page of the minutes.
Agron continued not to speak.
– Don’t forget, they are below. They will only be released when you sign.
A deep sob began to emerge from his heart. Tears began to flow down his cheeks. He started crying like a baby. Demir left him until he calmed down and said:
– Sign it!
He took the pen and with a trembling hand signed all the papers. When it was over, he could say in a piercing tone:
– Now everything is useless. Agron Canaj is dead.
Demiri called Isuf, who took him and locked him in cell number seven. The investigator followed them from behind.
– Why did you come down, first? – asked Isuf.
– I told you, Agron’s mother had come and wanted to talk to you.
– Right? And what did he want?
– He wanted explanations as to why you had taken away his daughter-in-law and granddaughter.
– Don’t fool me with such philosophies. Listen, I’m opening my mouth about what I saw, know that you drank black. Don’t think you can do anything to me. I have enough people to protect me under any circumstances. You haven’t seen anything. Did you understand?
Isufi kept silent and left. He was exchanged with Ilia on the way.
– Who invited us tonight? – He said. – Didn’t I tell you it’s a dangerous move?!
Both of them left, scowling loudly.
– Bride, what did they do to the girl? – asked mother Gjyla again, seeing Irida’s condition.
– I told you my mother; she was very shocked when she saw her father in that state.
– Why, how was he?
The country could barely support the mother. Lumtua understood her pain, but the tragedy she had suffered did not allow her to think too much about the pain of others. He had to support himself. It had to be strong.
– Of course, my mother, – he said to his mother-in-law, overcoming the pain, – after more than a month in the dungeon, without seeing the sunlight with his eyes, he was very pale. For the girl’s eyes this was a heavy blow. But don’t worry, it will pass soon and she will recover. Irida continued to stand as if frozen and with unblinking eyes. Only the words came out of her lips:
– Dad, dad, dad. You are flying. Grandma, look. No dad, don’t fly. Do you see, the harpies have kidnapped him…!
– No daughter, dad is not flying. He will be back soon. Curse the perpetrators! – said Lumturia, hugging her daughter with tears in her eyes.
– For the sake of life, tell me something. What are you hiding from me? – Mother Gjylua intervened.
– Ah, if only I could! – Lumturia said to herself then, addressing her mother-in-law: – We found him nailed to the wall, mother. He was almost unconscious from the torture.
– Curse! – came from the bottom of the old woman’s heart.
Irida began to scream in pain.
– Curse!
– They asked us to force him to accept what he had not done.
– Curse!
– He urged us not to fall into their trap.
– Curse!
– Then it happened.
– What happened, daughter?
– Don’t ask me anymore, mother.
– Talk, daughter, what happened?
At this time, Irida’s voice was heard again:
– Dad, dad, dad!
– Come mother’s daughter, come with your mother! Let’s go to bed, – said his mother.
He took his daughter in his arms and ran to her room amid tears that flowed non-stop. He laid the girl on the bed and was undressing her. On her underwear he noticed some traces of fresh blood. She drew back in terror, raised her hands and cried:
– God, oh God, where are you? Why didn’t you take me, but let me see such horror? Where is your punishment? Where are you oh god?
Suddenly it burned into deep oil. He hugged his daughter who did not understand anything. She was crying and crying. She was crying silently because she was afraid her mother-in-law would hear her. His heart was crying his soul cried. He turned his eyes to the dresser on which was a picture, where the three of them had gone out a few months ago. Joy was expressed in their eyes. What about now? That joy had turned into endless pain.
– Goni! – addressed her husband in the photograph. – They killed the girl, Goni! The criminals killed him. The girl is out of our hands, man! They kidnapped us and threw us into the abyss.
– Dad, dad, dad, – Irida’s muffled voice was heard again.
This voice made Lumtua pull herself together. He lay down on the bed with his daughter and holding her in the middle of the tears that flowed down his cheeks, he said:
– Mom’s heart sleeps! You have mom here. We are both together.
Suddenly, tears began to flow from her daughter’s eyes.
– Where is dad, my mom? Have the harpies kidnapped him? Look how they are flying together with dad.
– No my heart, daddy will come home tomorrow. Sleep now!
After a while the girl fell asleep. A restless sleep full of terrible dreams. Every now and then she got up in fright. Lumtua possessed him and spoke to him in a soft voice:
– Sleep mother’s daughter, sleep!
Irida fell asleep again. This continued until daybreak. Lumtua got up and went outside. In the corridor, he saw mother Gjyla. Even she had not lost sleep. All night you thought about what you would do the next day.
– How is the girl?
– I’m sleeping now.
– What should we do?
– I will go to get the doctor.
Happiness left in a hurry. Mother Gjyla turned to her husband’s picture on the wall and spoke to him:
– Why did you fight again, man? Maybe for the imprisoned son or for the estranged granddaughter? Everyone has turned their backs on us. Even those we once had as friends. This is the freedom for which you are a martyr?
Irida entered the room like a somnambulist wearing her nightgown.
– Did you get up, mother’s daughter? – said mother Gjyla, hugging her
– Where is father mother? Will it come back?
– Yes son, he will come soon. Yes, you will be cold to the core.
She ran into the bedroom and in the blink of an eye was back in her dress. He put it on and they both sat on the sofa.
– Did you see the father, daughter? – Teased mother Gjyla.
– I saw mother. He was flying. It flew high in the sky. Everywhere he was surrounded by harpies. – He stands up and spreading his arms – Dad, take me with you. I want to fly with you.
– Oh god! Why did you punish us in this way? – spoke mother Gjyla to herself. Then embracing the girl – Come daughter, come to your grandmother.
– They took her mother, they took her. I don’t see it anymore. It is leading him to the other world.
– No daughter, he will come and you will hug him in your arms.
At this time, Lumturia arrived with the doctor. Sotiri, the psychiatrist, was a peer of Agron. Both had finished their studies in the same year in Sofia, he for Medicine and Agriculture for Engineering. He visited it with special care. Finally he turned to Lumtua and said:
– The girl suffered a serious blow. What happened? I want to know so that I can take the appropriate measures. Don’t hide anything from me.
Lucky he thought. And what could he say? Could he tell her the truth?
– Last night we had a meeting with Goni. When she saw him in that state, the girl was horrified. He couldn’t take it anymore.
– How did you date such a sensitive child like this?
– They didn’t take it from us. They took it themselves.
– I want to be honest with you. The situation is serious. He suffered a great shock. You need to be hospitalized urgently. There we will do the appropriate tests and according to them, we will also give the necessary treatment. Will send the ambulance to pick him up. May luck be with you!
The ambulance came after an hour. The girl was placed on the third floor of the Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, in a separate room. With the intervention of Sotiri, a consultation with specialist doctors was immediately organized. In the end, it was concluded that the girl should definitely stay in the hospital, to get the necessary treatment. Lumtua also stayed with him. Memorie.al
