SUNLAND CALIFORNIA
The fragrance of coffee spread to my room and the man next to me stirred. I could hear the calm even tone of Roxy’s voice. Rocky and Philip were having a fight – everything, which reached my hearing, convinced me that I was not dreaming. I was at my friend’s house with my whole family. I got frightened that I might miss a day of my freedom and got up. I dressed up fast and entering the living room I said playful:
“Good Morning Americans! I prayed every day in Bulgaria
Roxy offered me a cup of coffee and when saw me to light the last cigarette from the box warned me:
“Zaek be careful if you go out! The temperatures in the valley are 110 third day in a row. Coming from snowy Austria
“This sounds not as a warning but as adventure to me! I said to my friend and left to buy cigarettes.
The hot air was vibrating in front of my eyes and as far as I could see the street was deserted. The asphalt was scorching hot and at that point I realized that I was barefoot and walking on my tiptoes. Fully absorbed from lovely gardens on both sides of the street I suddenly found myself on Foothill Boulevard , which was obviously the main street in Sunland.
Frankly speaking, what I first saw was not that encouraging. The few men that I saw seemed ordinary and these thoughts brought me back down to the earth. I think I heard my father’s voice:” Don’t you see? You are not in Beverly Hills
This woke me up somehow and I remembered that I had worn out six pairs of iron shoes until I get here. I had to find room for myself in this society. Thinking positive I entered a small store call “” and I gasped for breath with surprise. The place was cold and it seemed dark and unattractive. When my eyes got used to the darkness, I saw the cobwebs and huge dead spiders and bats caught into them.
The man and woman behind the counter were dressed in rags and they had on masks of painfully twisted faces. I stood still without a word. In shock I had already forgotten why I was there.
I asked myself whether I was not in one of those places, described by Truman Capote, where cool hand killers hung around. Or, perhaps, this was a nightmare?
Both store assistants were smiling at me, while I was looking for the door. Suddenly I heard the noise of dragging feet and when I turn around I saw a woman dressed in rags with newborn baby in one hand and a gallon of milk in another. This was bit too much for my wild imagination-everything was so strange.
“Why she was carrying milk and not a bottle of red wine for the little monster?” I thought with certain indignation. But Thanks God I was already by the door when a young man entered and greeted us with an amiable smile: “Happy Halloween guys!”
As late as then I realized everything was all right and I calmed down. The people were obviously celebrating some holiday. I went back to the counter and asked for a box of cigarettes, the lady asked me friendly:
“Where are you from, honey? “
At that point I answered confidently:
“I am from Sunland, but don’t know for how long!” I got the change and went out - to be more precise I plunged into sweltering heat once again.
Yes, I was in Sunland , California
The left side of Foothill Boulevard was lost somewhere in the mountains. I took right on the main street, thinking that we came this way the previous night. The first house I saw stunned me with wonderment. I got confused because I knew that I was in the desert, but the yard of this house was real oasis. There was something unusual here. Next to the bunch of slender palms, there was a pine tree which rose up in the sky. I told myself for the sake of reassuring myself:
“Zaek, for sure your place is here! “
I continued walking down the boulevard where the gas stations were at each corner and gasoline was 76.9c per gallon. I think I had gone as far as the end of Sunland when I saw the park. Children were playing loudly and not far from them I saw a few men lieing down on the grass sipping beer from cans wrapped in paper.
This picture reminded me of Tortilla Flat losers and I even felt the stench of urine. I thought with a sense of endearment that I was in one of those biblical places, described by Steinbeck.
I wished my father was with me and in this moment I felt that my soul was flooded with endless love - I felt like embracing the whole planet. I leaned and spontaneously kissed the parched dry soil with a sense of gratitude and reverence.
