We walked through a dirty narrow road past a mosque then took a left to an old dirty alley. The alley was not littered, neither did it have any graffiti on the walls, but the old walls had cracks and faded paint that made the place look unpleasant. When we got through the alley we saw a patch of blue water hidden behind other buildings. Immediately, I smelled a very slight foul smell, so slight I could not make up my mind whether it was good or bad. It was a smell that had a sense of saltiness. After a while I could recall where I smelled the smell, it was the smell of crabs and the soil of the sea.
The alley led us to an old stair way covered with patches of moss that headed down. The stairs were made out of bricks that looked at least more than five decades old, and they were inconsistence in size and distance. Moving passed a very rudimentary steel door that looked like a handmade prison door from a 16th century fort, I saw an unimpressive black door. Entering the black door changed the entire mood of the atmosphere from a very vintage environment to something more modern. The black door revealed a stair case, with a classic Arabic pattern on each one of them. We finally got to a house on the second floor. The house was recently painted white and the chemicals made my skin itch. "This is the new house we will be moving into" said my mom to my sister and me. The house was modern with green and white synthetic marble tiles. But one thing that stood out was the huge balcony which was visible from the front door. The balcony finally revealed the sea that was hidden behind the buildings. The two o'clock sun light and the perfect weather complimented the blueness of the sea. The house was located on an island in the middle of a gulf and the view showed the two disconnected tips of land in the gulf. In between the two tips of land beyond the gulf, I could see where the sea united with the ocean. The location of the house revealed the vastness of The Indian Ocean, so vast it made me feel a sense of fear. Looking back it was the same feeling I get while looking into a picture of the Milky Way that make you feel non-existent by the sheer size of it. The ocean was so wide and the horizon was so far and deep into the distance that my eyes strained to process the image. As I looked out to the ocean breeze cooled our bodies in the 35 degree heat.
The house was a place of sanctuary. Every time the heat drained my energy when I came back to the house the soft breeze charged me up again. The house is where I spent most of my childhood. Every time I look back to my childhood the house is always a part of the memory. It brings back memory of purity, innocence and naiveté that I reminisce almost every day while I fight the hardships of transition into adulthood. Now, the memories of the house provides sanctuary when I feel like I need some peace.
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ReplyDeleteOn a hot day we walked through a dirty narrow road past a mosque, then took a left to an old alley which was vertically high it that blocked away the sunlight yet reinforced the strength of the wind. The sharp change in temperature made the hairs on my arm stand. The alley was not littered neither did it have any graffiti on the walls. The yellow walls on the sides took a hit from all the dust and wind that over time stole away its layers of paint and had left it with a faded beige color. It had cracks and sharp stokes of black marks that I assumed were from a sole of a shoe that scraped it which made the place look unpleasant. When we got through the alley I saw a patch of blue water hidden behind other buildings. Immediately, I smelled a very slight foul smell, so slight I could not make up my mind whether it was good or bad. It was a smell that had a sense of saltiness. After a while I could recall where I smelled the smell, it was the smell of crabs and fish in a market.
ReplyDeleteThe alley led us to an old stair way covered with patches of dark green moss that headed down. The stairs was made out of bricks that looked at least more than five decades old, and they were inconsistence in size and distance. Despite the obvious flaws the stair way had a perfect geometrical alignment that made it attractive. The parallel sides of the stair way gave an illusion that as the stairs went down, that my perspective of the view funneled towards the end. It was similar to a photograph of a railroad that the parallel rails almost intersect as it gets further. Moving passed a very rudimentary steel door that looked like a handmade prison door from a 16th century fort, I saw an unimpressive black door.
Entering the black door changed the entire mood of the atmosphere from a very vintage environment to something more modern. The black door revealed another stair case with an Islamic geometric pattern on each one of them. We finally got to a house on the second floor. The house was recently painted white and the chemical particles emitted from it gave a burning sensation to my skin. "This is the new house we will be moving into" said my mom to me and my sister. The house was modern with green and white synthetic marble tiles with a slight touch of Arabic architecture found on the arches. But one thing that stood out was the huge balcony which was visible from the front door. The balcony finally revealed the sea that was hidden behind the buildings that I saw earlier. The two o'clock sun light and the perfect weather complimented the blueness of the sea.
The house was located on an island in the middle of a gulf and the view displayed the two disconnected tips of land in the gulf. In between the two disconnected tips of land beyond the gulf, I could see where the sea met with the ocean. The location of the house revealed the vastness of The Indian Ocean, so vast it made me feel a sense of fear. Looking back it is the same feeling I get when looking into a picture of the Milky Way that make you feel non-existent by the sheer size of it. The ocean was so wide and the horizon was so far into the distance that my eyes strained to process the image. As I looked out to the ocean, the breeze cooled our bodies in the 35 degree heat.
During my stay in the house, it served as a shelter. However, in the later years after I had moved out, it served as a mental sanctuary. Reminiscing the time when I had less to worry about in the past, my brain automatically brings memories of the house which will always be a symbol of tranquility and purity.