The UnReal in Real

Finally, Julie once again moved out of her house. But this time she had a teacher, she had a friend that was inside her. And she had a load of history that she wanted to leave in her old house.

In her new place, everything was a little bit strange. The windows were strange, the little dog that she took in was strange, and the scene outside of the window was strange. Julie was a bit confused, but every time she felt weak, she uttered: “Nare should live.” And kept on working, doing her regular job and living in the new house as if nothing had changed.

She enjoyed taking her dog out for a walk. People in Armenia don’t like when daughters leave their families when they are not married. And they looked at her with strange eyes asking why are you walking alone when your family lives down the block. Julie wished that she would not notice these looks, but they made her even more persistent. They made her believe in her dream of the unreal in real, which had nothing to do with their looks. They made her think that her whole life was a struggle to be whole, to be one and to ignore anything that stands in the way of that wholeness. She was sure that she deserved her separate life for which she had struggled a lot.

Yet the panic of laziness still chased Julie. But there was much Nare inside her. She was more persistent and much more like her teacher. She knew her like her own self, and she could notice the elements of the valley where she lived with Nare in her house.

That was a house of peace and gratefulness.

Gradually, her life started changing. She met people much like the ones in the communities where she was with Nare. These were kind, cheerful people that would share a piece of bread with you. She liked sitting with them and chatting and laughing. There was some Nare in all these people. She was present in every woman and child. Julie knew that, and that made her love these people even more.

The only problem was her old family. They did not like to see Julie separate and happy. For a very long time, they told her that she wouldn’t be able to live on her own. And today when Julie was not only overcoming mundane challenges but was also happy, this made her family somewhat mean.

Julie would visit them, and she felt sad for these people who wanted to control her all her life. She was sad because these people did not do that out of evil but because they thought that they were doing her good. They wanted to decide her fate. They wanted to live her life instead of letting her live it. They wanted to breathe instead of letting her breathe. That had cost Julie a lot. That had driven Julie into depression and caused many many years of suffering. Sometimes the greatest evil arises from goodwill. Julie knew that they had not wanted to hurt her, that in their heart they knew what was right. And they had wanted that right to become hers. It had cost a life, a whole life.

Julie did not hate them. She had forgiven them long ago. Her mission was not to gain revenge for the lost years. Her mission now was to be faithful to Nare. And every day when she woke up, she would look out of the window and see the valley, the valley where she lived with Nare. In fact, all she saw were shops and people passing by, but there was so much beauty that it reminded her of their valley of people and happiness.

Nare was her secret, her inner teacher, her self. She was the lessons learned through tears, and she was the secret hope that one day she would be the one that is capable of magic even in this world. Her new life was part of this magic. Her new life was the beginning of a new story where the queen was Nare inside Julie.

The New Life

Julie could notice more joy and slight moments of pleasure in her new life – ones she had not known before. That was unusual. She enjoyed most of the moments of her being. But she also withered attacks from the old life as well. Sometimes she would feel too lazy to even stand up and look out a window; sometimes she wouldn’t want to take the dog out. But the lesson was written everywhere on the walls of her new house: DO WHAT YOU ARE LAZY ABOUT. It took power, it took willpower to overcome the attacks of laziness and boredom, but she overcame them much more easily.

Was it the beginning of a new start? She did not know. All she knew was that she would not let the misery of the old life conquer her again. When she recalled the days, she was horrified. All the horrors were left in the past. She was not going back.

One day an old man came to her house. He was a beggar. He asked for money, but he did not ask for free money. He gave her a bracelet that had a letter on it. There was a little “N” on it. Tears streamed from Julie’s eyes. She understood that Nare makes her presence felt. That she was not alone. That the unreal life where she traveled with Nare was giving her signs. She held the bracelet in her hand and looked into the eyes of the beggar. They were cheerful, and a happy smile spread over his face as he said, “Keep it. You deserve it.”

In the Middle – An International Transposition (Fiction)

Introduction to In the Middle – An International Transposition, edited by Angelika Friedrich, Yuri Smirnov and Henry Whittlesey

January: Forgetting – Turkey, by Seyit Ali Dastan

February: The Unreal in Real – Armenia, by Armine Asyran

March: Catching Water – Argentina, by Javier Gómez

April: Unwanted – South Africa, by Sarah Leah Pimentel

May: House with a Stucco Ship – Ukraine, by Gennady Bondarenko

June: A Girl Pedaling up the Road of Life – Cuba, by Marilin Guerrero Casas

July: The Last Day – Poland, by Pawel Awdejuk

August: Through my Hands – Venezuela, by Veronica Cordido

September: Amelia’s Euphemism – Spain, by Jonay Quintero Hernández

October: Until Love Do Us Part – Uruguay, by Alejandra Baccino

November: A Journey to the Edge – Lebanon, by Rayan Harake

December: I Used to Smoke – Russia, by Kate Korneeva

Background – Context

Peripatetic Alterity: A Philosophical Treatise on the Spectrum of Being – Romantics and Pragmatists by Angelika Friedrich, Yuri Smirnov and Henry Whittlesey (2019)

La Syncrétion of Polarization and Extremes Transposée, (eds.) Angelika Friedrich, Yuri Smirnov and Henry Whittlesey (2019)

The Codex of Uncertainty Transposed, (eds.) Angelika Friedrich, Yuri Smirnov and Henry Whittlesey (2018)

L’anthologie of Global Instability Transpuesta, (eds.) Angelika Friedrich, Yuri Smirnov and Henry Whittlesey (2017)

From Wahnsinnig to the Loony Bin: German and Russian Stories Transposed to Modern-day America, (eds.) Angelika Friedrich, Yuri Smirnov and Henry Whittlesey (2013)

More work by Nane Sevunts (Armine Asyran)

From Uncertainty to Newness – transposing emblem by Nane Sevunts

An Era to Close – short story by Nane Sevunts

Emblems and stories on Armenia

Perception by country – Transposing emblems, articles, short stories and reports from Armenia and other countries

Credits

Cover photo of Yerevan, Armenia by Levon Vardanyan (Unsplash)

Source: The Codex of Uncertainty Transposed