The Lentil Dish

The Lentil Dish
All I know he was a child of 7 living in an orphanage together with a small group of boys. Yet, he was different or an outsider and was often bullied. He didn’t complain to anybody about it although he suffered and this made him even more isolated. After school he used to sit in a corner and do his homework. Yes, the only thing he was good at was learning for school. One day when he got back from school he overheard the following conversation between two women who were in charge of the house: Well, he is a quiet boy but you have the impression he is working on something mischievous, said the first women. The second added: you know he was brought here by his mother and father. She was a gipsy and he was a policeman. The first women then added: No, but maybe you know he was not their son. People say his gipsy mother stole him one day from a family somewhere far from here and nobody knows where. Another problem with him he keeps losing things. This is the third time he lost the keys and his bag. He says he left them somewhere but doesn’t know where. I think the other boys at school steal his bag and in his anger he throws the keys away. I don’t know really what to do with him and as you know they are closing this house next year. The second women said, well we have to find a family for him but I believe that won’t be easy as he is such an introvert.

When the year came to an end, he was sent to another house in the hope of finding a family for him. But he continued living at his new place in the same way he lived in his first place until he was thirteen. A family with many children then showed their willingness to adopt him. This way his social life improved considerably. The new school and family made it easier for him to make friends and he thought it would be a good idea if he changed his place from time to time. But now as a teenager something else changed in him. He developed a deep fascination for female body. Whenever he could he focused the two daughters and their mother who was now about forty. He looked at her secretly from behind and imagined himself winding around her body. He followed her with his eyes wherever she went. His obsession grew and he wanted to see her naked. He thought: the next time she takes a bath I will try to get a glimpse through the keyhole. He couldn’t see much but did it many times until he was caught. The mother shouted at him from the bathroom: Wait till I come out, you bastard. When she came out she told her husband what had happened and they decided that he should leave and find another place.

He went to his school the second day and told some of his friends that the family he was living with didn’t want him anymore and that now he had to earn his own living. His friends immediately organized to collect some money for him and comforted him by offering that he could take turns staying at their houses. The families were generous and he also learned how to earn some money during the holidays. He liked the idea of living with different families but he couldn’t find his feet. The school authorities heard of his situation and they sent him to live with an old lady who was almost blind.

She lived in an old house alone and welcomed a young boy who could do shopping for her from time to time. The old lady often cooked a lentil dish which he hated but their grandma and grandson relationship became permanent. She worried even when he was late a few minutes. She didn’t talk about herself for some time until one Sunday after breakfast she took out a picture and started. You know my son: I had a daughter who was married with a son. I never saw my grandson for my daughter and her husband were killed in an accident. I don’t know what happened to their son but I think he was killed too. Then she cried bitterly. “Look my boy I am very old” she said “if I die you can stay in this house. I will go and register it in your name. He was not listening and he didn’t really want to stay with her until her death. He was hungry for the world. He hoped he could complete his studies soon and find a job and…….

Well, the old lady died, like everybody else he completed his studies, earned his first money and got married. “That’s the end” he said and “now let me go all the way back”. His present became a shadow, a phantom and his past took possession of him. He was forced to leave his wife and go back to the old house which the old lady had registered in his name. The smell of lentil was still there but this time he liked it and even wished the old lady were there to cook it for him. He went to the kitchen and found some lentil in an old tin. He didn’t know how to cook but at least it was lentil. He so much needed to eat lentil now under that roof over his head. He cooked lentil until everything smelt of lentil instead of dust.

Jamshid
Bremen, 7 March 2009

Rate the article
Bad	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Very good
Result : 100%							Participated in the vote : 2