THE FALL
(Title of the original: Η ΠΤΩΣΗ)
By Maria Foustalieraki*
Rendered by Vassilis C. Militsis
[Moschochoriou 13.80]
As I was falling in slow motion from the
rooftop – it’s a myth that falling is as swift as lightning – I had the chance
of seeing from high up the building’s residents, whom I had never till then
been interested in.
In the penthouse, where I thought none had
been living, I saw a cat chasing a canary in the dust. I had no time to see
more, but I don’t think that the cat was hungry.
Right in the downstairs flat there were
clothes hanging on the line, which I didn’t tangle or fouled them up, for I
passed through the lines with the skill of a famous ballerina.
In a flat in the middle of the building a
young girl was standing nude in front of the mirror. She pressed her
non-existent breasts sadly and sucked in vigorously her tummy, while she was
spreading away a slimming cream on her flawless buttocks. I didn’t have time to
tell her how gorgeous she looked and that her lanky adolescent body would soon
disappear and give way to an elegant young lady’s figure; as long as she held
on a bit longer.
As I plummeted downwards, in the third
floor flat I saw a baby looking at me from his crib; the baby reminded me
intensely of myself, but I didn’t have the time to dwell on this psychological issue.
In the first floor flat an old couple was
snuggling in the living room while in the ground floor flat a dastardly man had
grabbed his wife by the throat. I hollered at him to stop it; I was going to
bust in through the door and break his neck, but neither heard me. Not even the
unfortunate woman could hear me so that she could know that someone had cared
and stood up for her although that stranger was no longer capable of caring and
protecting herself.
The woman’s helplessness and the rage I
felt made me change my mind: I no longer wished to die. I wanted to go on
living and get to know from the beginning all I was ignorant of: the people of
my neighborhood and, above all, my own life.
However, it was too late. It was too late
for me to stop my fall, for I couldn’t infringe upon the laws of physics. Had
it been in my power, I’d break down the laws of nature and I’d go up all the
floors, one by one, on my knees, and change what I could of the people’s lives.
When I hit the sidewalk, they say that I
was still alive.
I heard the cobblestones whisper in my ears
they had shocking stories to tell. A throng had gathered around me and begged
me not to die; they were grieving for my youth and my raven hair. They were
also weeping for my clothes that had been torn and bloodstained from my fateful
plunge.
But it was the cobblestones of the sidewalk
that wept the more; for none had stopped to hear the amazing stories they had
to tell.
*Maria Foustalieraki was born in Rethymno,
Crete, in 1970. She is a mother of three children and lives in Thessaloniki.
She studied European Civilization at the Greek Open University. She also attended successfully at the
Capodistrian University of Athens educational subjects such as text editing,
philosophy [Freedom and Welfare] and Creative Prose Reading and Writing Skills.
She worked as a clerk in the private sector. She has participated in literary teams.
She is an active member of voluntary and philanthropic organizations and takes
care of stray cats. Her writings have often appeared in e-literary journals.
She speaks English, French and she is currently studying Iranian at the
Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki, hoping that one day she will be able
to read old Persian poetry from the original. Her anthology of short stories Odos
Eligmon [Swerve Street] is her first appearance in Greek prose writing. She
has not yet decided what she wants to be when she grows up.
Maria Foustalieraki was born in Rethymno,
Crete, in 1970. She is a mother of three children and lives in Thessaloniki.
She studied European Civilization at the Greek Open University. She also attended successfully at the
Capodistrian University of Athens educational subjects such as text editing,
philosophy [Freedom and Welfare] and Creative Prose Reading and Writing Skills.
She worked as a clerk in the private sector. She has participated in literary teams.
She is an active member of voluntary and philanthropic organizations and takes
care of stray cats. Her writings have often appeared in e-literary journals.
She speaks English, French and she is currently studying Iranian at the
Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki, hoping that one day she will be able
to read old Persian poetry from the original. Her anthology of short stories Odos
Eligmon [Swerve Street] is her first appearance in Greek prose writing. She
has not yet decided what she wants to be when she grows up.
From her Anthology: ΟΔΟΣ ΕΛΙΓΜΩΝ [ODOS ELIGMON]
