A quick glance at the athletic men dressed in black a
couple meters behind them, and her father was gone
once again.
This was very much like visiting a grave, and worse
for many reasons, but she was not regretful about
coming. She made her way to her car as the echo of her
footsteps and the falling rain became undifferentiable.
She grabbed the keys from the pocket of her homespun
coat, and unhurriedly drove away.
Burcu Ilgın PALA
9-D
The Cage
Time was frozen. Cold weather surrounded Apa and
brought him under its spell. His lips were becoming
more bluish, and his teeth chattered as fast as a small
child's heartbeat. He began to lose his sense. The
frigid wind was pushing him downwards, but with his
trembling hands, he was holding on to an indented rock.
He couldn't move. It was like he was surrounded by an
invisible cage. A cage of nature.
When the wind waned, he turned around to check the
condition of the thick rope he was bound to. The hard
wind was corroding the rope and the rope was getting
thinner more and more. The possibility of falling made
him be full of fear.
“Help… help me!” he shouted, with all his strength.
No one responded. There were no voices from the
people who were there to take photos of Apa's climb. He
was all alone. He took a deep breath. He shouldn't have
thought about the worst possible scenario, he should
have created the best possible scenario. He tried to
overcome his fear by screaming towards the mountain.
When Apa screamed, the grand mountain threw a mass
of snow on him, as if it was answering him with all its
grandeur. The falling snow mass moved Apa's right hand
from the rock and caused him to lose his balance. The
foggy sky thundered as if it was supporting the mountain.
It thundered so that Apa thought he had lost his sense
of hearing.
Apa was shaking in the middle of the lofty mountain like
an object hanging from a pendulum. Apa had no other
choice but to need a miracle to survive. The wind had
increased its speed. Apa's left hand was getting tired and
slowly sliding from the rock he was holding on to. He
could not wait for a miracle to save him. He only had
himself to create a miracle. Without panic, he thought
about all possibilities. He couldn't see the base of the
mountain because of the fog that covered everywhere.
And if he insisted on waiting a little longer, Apa would
have been bait for a wild animal. Breathlessly, from his
purplish lips:
"God, be with me!" he said.
It was a war between the wind and Apa. With all his
strength, he moved his body to back and forth, as if
he was swinging on a swing. When he reached the
appropriate speed, he threw himself upwards and
managed to find a handhold for his right hand. He hit
the rocky surface of the mountain with his foot in order
to make a cavity. It didn't matter how much he hit the
surface of the mountain because he already could
not feel his foot, because of the influence of the cold
weather. His nails broke, and inside his boot, a blood
lake occurred. His position made it easier to resist the
blustery wind. He waited for over five minutes to gain
energy and to maintain his focus.
“Not scared of you. Is this your best?” he said and
laughed insanely.
After he felt ready, he leaped to a rocky ledge, that he
couldn't recognize at first. The rope he was bound was
taut and suddenly, it broke. The helmet he had worn
prevented his head from taking a major blow. With fear
in him, he grabbed a rock by his right hand as he was
falling. For the first time, fear had beaten up calmness.
One last step left to reach the summit. He was dizzy. He
got chilled to the bone so that he didn't feel it anymore.
One last effort. A final flutter. He pressed down on the
summit with his frozen hands, moved his bleeding feet
and succeeded. He climbed the mountain. His words
were deafening.
“ I win!” he said.
Time was frozen. Cold weather surrounded Apa and
brought him under its spell. He was a black spot under
the white sky. Apa was crawling on the mountain's
wide flat plateau. Apa couldn't move any further. He
was barely breathing. This time white covered the color
black. This time ambition is defeated. This time living
became harder than dying. And the sky thundered for
the last time with the joy of vengeance when Apa was
imprisoned forever in the invisible cage.
Yaren ÖZER
9-D
22
THE CLAPPER 2018 - 2019