ENG
In the morning, he was at work before dawn. Every day, without exception, he woke up in the middle of the night, opened the big, old but sturdy-looking lock of his shop, and went inside to bake bread. Suat was a baker, he baked very beautiful and different types of bread. The first bread he baked every morning filled the streets of the neighborhood with the smell of fresh bread. He would arrange them in the shop window and be proud of his creations. He was happy with his work and his income was good, but he was in debt because of his wife's traffic accident. Fortunately, no one was killed, but the car was rendered unusable. His wife was able to commute to work in their car, and after she recovered from her injuries, she commuted to work in the new car they bought. Neither of their earnings was enough to pay the installments for the new car. The school term had started for the children and Suat was in a very tight situation. He wished to find money from somewhere.
It was difficult for him to wake up early in the day and come to work before dawn. He was tired of working in hot ovens all day. The bakery shops were not very big and he had to manage alone because he was not in a position to pay an employee.
The morning hours had passed and it was almost noon. A girl in her teens entered the door of the shop with a two-year-old baby in her arms and a boy aged five or six holding her hand. Everybody who saw the children, who were covered with dirt and rust, realized that they were homeless. They were so weak that it was obvious that they were hungry.
When Suat saw these children coming to his shop, he first thanked god for his situation, then he examined the children. Their lips were dry from thirst, their hair was greasy from dirt, and their clothes were full of dust and mud. He felt pity. But he was not in a position to help.
The girl started to speak "Good day uncle, my brothers and I have not eaten since last night, we are very hungry, we live in a tent four streets back, my parents are dead, can you help us a little?"
There was no begging in her voice, she was just asking for help, but Suat was not in a position to help. He used to make very good bread, and the neighborhood used to buy bread with its smell and the beautifully toasted, differently shaped bread in the showcase, but he could not make sales as he used to, he had reduced the number of bread he threw into the oven when there was no purchase. While the shop was barely supporting itself, the car installment debt had forced Suat to cut down on various purchases and save money.
He looked at the children once more, the baby on her lap seemed to be asleep from fatigue, and his wrists were weak. Suat thought, then moved. He walked to the shop window and wrapped five loaves of bread in a piece of paper. His conscience was overpowering and he knew he had to help more, he thought that if he gave some money they could buy water or a piece of cheese or meat with this money and he opened the safe. When he opened the safe, the money he saw reminded him of his debt. But he did not listen to the other voice inside him, he took 10 Turkish liras from the safe and handed it to the girl. He gave the bread to her brother. The children suddenly stirred and the sister's eyes shone with happiness. They thanked him a thousand times and left the shop.
After they left the shop, Suat prayed for the children and then for himself. "O Allah, help those who are in distress."
TR
Sabah daha gün doğmadan işinin başına geçmişti. Her gün istisnasız her gece yarısı uyanıp, dükkanının eski ama sağlam görünüşlü büyük kilidini açıp içeri giriyordu, ekmek pişirmek için. Suat bir fırıncıydı, çok güzel ve değişik şekillerde ekmekler pişirirdi. Onun her sabah fırından ilk çıkardığı ekmekler mahallenin sokaklarını taze ekmek kokusuyla doldururdu. Vitrine onları dizer, yaptığı eserlerle gurur duyardı. İşinden memnundu, geliri de güzeldi ama karısının yaptığı trafik kazasından dolayı biraz borca girmişti. Çok şükür ölen yoktu ama araba kullanılamaz hale gelmişti. Karısı işine arabalarıyla gidip gelebiliyordu, kadın yaraları iyileştikten sonra da yeni aldıkları arabayla işe gidip geliyordu. İkisinin de kazançları yeni arabanın taksitlerini ödemeye yetmiyordu. Çocukların da okul dönemi açılmıştı, Suat çok sıkışık bir durumdaydı. Bir yerden para bulmayı diliyordu.
Günün erken saatlerinde uyanıp daha gün ağarmadan işe gelmek onu zorluyordu. Tüm gün de sıcak fırınlarda çalışmaktan yorulmuştu. Fırın dükkanları çok büyük değildi tek başına idare etmek zorundaydı çünkü bir elemana para ödeyebilecek durumda değildi.
Sabah saatleri geçmiş ve öğlen olmak üzereydi. Dükkanın kapısından Onlu yaşlarda bir kız kucağında tuttuğu iki yaşındaki bebek ve elini tuttuğu beş, altı yaşlarındaki bir erkek çocukla beraber girdi. Üstü başı kir pas içinde olan çocukları her gören onların evsiz olduklarını anlardı. O kadar zayıf kalmışlar ki aç oldukları her hallerinden belliydi.
Suat dükkanına gelen bu çocukları görünce ilk önce haline şükrettti, Sonra çocukları inceledi. Susuzluktan dudakları kurumuş, pislikten saçları yağlanmış, üzerleri toz ve çamur dolu bu çocukların kıyafetleri de yırtıktı. İçi acıdı. Ama yardım edecek durumda da değildi.
Kız söze başladı " Hayırlı günler amca, kardeşlerim ve ben dün geceden beri bir şey yemedik, çok açız dört sokak arkada bir çadırda yaşıyoruz, annem babam sizlere ömür, bize biraz yardım eder misiniz?"
Kızın sesinde dilenme yoktu, sadece yardım istiyordu ama Suat yardım edecek durumda değildi. Çok güzel ekmekler yapardı, mahalle hem kokusuyla hem de vitrinde duran güzel kızarmış, farklı şekillerdeki ekmeklerden alırı alırdı ama eskisi gibi satışta yapamıyordu artık, fırına attığı ekmek sayılarını azaltmıştı alım olmayınca. Dükkan kendi kendini zor geçindirirken bir de araba taksit borcu, Suat'ı çeşitli alışverişlerden men etmişti, tasarruf etmeye itmişti.
Bir kez daha çocukları inceledi, kucaktaki bebek halsizlikten uyuyor gibiydi, bilekleri zayıflamıştı. Suat düşündü, sonra yerinden kımıldadı. Vitrine doğru yürüdü, bir kağıda beş tane ekmek sardı. Vicdanı ağır basmıştı ve daha fazla yardım etmesi gerektiğini biliyordu, eğer biraz para verirse onların bu parayla su yada bir parça ekmek yada et alabileceğini düşündü ve kasayı açtı. Kasayı açınca gördüğü paralar ona borcunu hatırlattı. Ama içindeki diğer sesi dinlemedi, kasadan 10 lira aldı ve kıza uzattı. Ekmekleri de erkek kardeşe verdi. Çocuklar birden kıpırdandı ve mutluluktan gözleri parladı abla kardeşin. Bin kere teşekkür edip, dükkandan çıktılar.
Onlar dükkandan çıktıktan sonra, Suat bir dua etti çocuklar için, sonra da kendisi için. "Allah'ım sen zorda kalmışlara yardım et."
Just a beautiful piece here!
Thank you 🌸🌸
If we'd all be able to finally think like that, like Suat.
I can't help but wonder if people all over the planet would think like that, how would our civilization look like?
Nice little story.
One good turn deserves another, Suat will surely get his blessings in due time despite all that's going on.
A very moving story, @ipexito! There is so much suffering in our world. Sometimes we get so distracted and forget about that! I need to reflect on this. Thanks again!
!LUV
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Topnotch. All the better because we don't know how Suet will pay his car debt. We don't know where he will find the money to buy ingredients for his bread. We do know that he was faced with a human calamity: starving children. This was his conflict. Help the children and take a risk in his own life, or turn away. This is the conflict you resolve. Is it not a universal conflict? Is giving not always a choice (perhaps not as grim) between what we can share and what we want to keep?
Thank you for sharing this most affecting story with us. You create a character that is both specific and relatable to the human condition. We appreciate that you engage with other writers in the community.
Thank you for liking my story. I'm grateful for your comment. Yes, I tried to tell this big conflict.