Wednesday, March 22, 2006

The Good Old Days

This post is inspired by Nesrina. She talked in her last post about how she used to spend Fridays in the garden of her grandma's villa together with Nerro and the family kids.

Her post took me back in time when I used to spend my days in my grandpa villa with my 3 cousins that were almost my age. Our parents used to go to work and drop us on their way at our grandpa's. We used to spend our days playing in the garden, trying to shake the Mango tree in a competition to see who will succeed in getting a Mango fruit. We used to chase butterflies, play hide & seek, run bare footed on the grass, smell the flowers, feel the grass, sense the cold summer breeze on our faces.

On the Ad7a Feast, my grandpa used to get the butcher and let him slaughter the od7ia (sheep/cow) in the garage of his villa. All the family members used to gather in his place to celebrate the feast. Children in their new clothes from tip to toe, feeling proud of their new outfits, waiting for their 3edia (money) given by the elders and teasing each other with the amount of money they collected.

I can't forget the huge tree at the entrance of the garden that goes up almost as tall as the building. It was a cozmorou tree, or so they called it. It was a kind of an exotic fruit that I never saw except in my grandpa's garden. There were also Guavas, Mandarins, Green Apples, and Grapes in addition to different kinds of flowers.

In the year 1886 my grandpa passed away. Although, I was only a small kid when he died, I still remember him and miss him so much. I spent the most beautiful days of my life with him. Allah yer7amou…
After his death my uncle lived in the villa for a while and then he had to sell it as it was a family inheritance.

One day, six years ago, it was June 2000; I was feeling so sick for those old days. I had a wave of emotions to my grandpa and the days where everything was peachy just like his garden.
I decided to go and have a quick look on the villa, just a quick glimpse to remind me of the "good old days". However, I am still regretting it till now, ya retny ma ro7t.

A company bought the place and took it as their premises. I asked the gate-man to allow me in the garden for only 2 minutes telling him that I used to live in this place long time ago.
I took my steps in the garden noticing the dirty ground and the negligence shading the place. The building that used to be covered with green climbing plants is now a yellow lonely building. The cozmorou tree was still there, but beside it was a shabby place which is supposed to be the room inhabited by the gate-man. The lovely garden gate wasn't there anymore; the garden was nothing but a deserted place with no trace of the flowers and the lovely fruity trees. Instead of the grapes pergola with the ancient pharaoh picture engraved on the wall they built a place for the gate-man to wash, sleep and bread his chickens!!! The garden was nothing but a filthy dirty place. The Mango tree was nothing but a sick, old, fruitless tree. Hanging lines with clothes on, chicken running loose, dirt everywhere … I felt I was in a nightmare, as if someone stole my memories all of the sudden.

I left quickly the place, thanking the guard for allowing me in and ever since that day I never tried to pass by the so-called villa again.
Posted by Wonderer :: 10:04 PM :: 9 comments

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