The Third Death

By Murat Tuncel

This is the story of the life of a Hungarian man living through the most turbulent years of the twentieth century. Born the youngest of three brothers and one sister Galgoczy, was denied a normal childhood by the chaos of the first world war. His father, a sergeant in the Hungarian army, was absent throughout the war years and did not return home permanently after the armistice but returned to soldiering in the south of Hungary. Galgoczy's father could only return home for a few days at a time on rare occasions and the growing boy missed him and dreamt of his return continually.

The nationalist movement in Germany rose to power during Galgoczy's adolescence. In the thirties Germans began to arrive in Hungary to buy large tracts of land as farms. One such farm was built near Galgoczy's home. His mother began working at the farm believing that it would bring a better future for her children.

During the war when Germany began to occupy Hungary, the local population rebelled and during the struggle the local revolutionary committee didn't want local people, including Galgoczy's mother, to work for the Germans. She continued to work at the farm to feed her family, believing that the committee wouldn't harm a soldier's wife. It was at this time that Galgoczy's eldest brother, Anton, left home when he was conscripted by the resistance.

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Texianer Verlag
• Release date: Apr 15, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201527389

Murat Tuncel

Murat Tuncel was born in Kars, in eastern Turkey in 1952. He worked in Turkey as a primary school teacher and later taught Turkish language in a high school. He later worked as a journalist for many newspapers and magazines. He has published eleven books in Turkish including novels, short stories children’s books and memoirs. Two of his novels and a short story collection won major literary awards in Turkey. His first story was published in the Uyaniş newspaper in 1979. His stories are published in literary magazines such as Varlik, Evrensel Kültür, Damar, Edebıyat Dunyası, Kıyı, Gösteri Sanat, Cumhuriyet Kitap. He also regularly contributes to Turkish literary magazines on subjects such as Dutch and Flemish literature. Its several tales are translated and are published in Russian, Arab, pulse, Korean and Azeritisch. To be last novel Inanna is translated in Arab (Syria), Korean and Bulgarian. His last novel Traciasun is translated ın Bulgars en Arabıc. He is member of Turkish writers association (TYS, Dutch writers association (VvL), Turkish PEN, Turkish journalists association and several writer's clubs.

Book preview

Foreword

Galgoczy left Hungary and settled in the Netherlands years ago. He was all alone the day I met him, just as he was the day he arrived in the Netherlands. Had it not been for the help given by my wife Nursel, who is a nurse, and her friends, and had they not taken him food, then he most likely wouldn’t have enjoyed any hot meals in the final days of his life.

In this work, you shall read of how Galgoczy wandered through his three lives and deaths in hopeful solitude; it will be the first work that another writer in another country will have written...

Murat Tuncel

They toss a log onto the fire and yet it doesn’t burn,

There’s no such love that lasts for eternity.

Light the waving fire, my baby,

Let me warm my frail hands.

The nightingales are twittering,

Perhaps the sun is rising.

May God bless you, my rose,

As you remain with yourself.

Love, love, damned melancholy,


Why don’t you bloom flowers

On all of the leaves of your trees?

(Hungarian folksong Translation: Sevgican Yağcı)

I don’t have two hearts that can endure all this agony.

Native American chief, Matavava

1

My mother was like an actress who wandered about a theatre without a stage. She never talked while walking, but would say at practically every turn she made, both winter and poverty are right on our heels. I’d go out whenever I’d get bored of this game, which amused me at first. The sun’s bright rays dazzled my eyes. While blinking my eyelids, my glance followed the road passing besides our home and stretched as far as the forest.

Advancing slowly up the hill, the forest would go hand-in-hand with the mountains after passing the German farm. Dappling the mountain slopes in many hues, the trees painted the peaks a dark green.

I set out down the road towards the forest only to turn back after walking a few steps. I leaned my back against the garden wall and sat down. The coolness of the ground flowed through my skin the moment I took a seat. I began scrawling shapes in the soil I had patted down with my hand with a jagged stone. I first drew huge apples dangling from little apple trees, then drew a bird, a soldier, as well as a horse. I was going to send a letter to my father, whose military service had seemed to last forever. My father was also going to get on a horse and come here. I didn’t know how to write, but fathers could read everything their children wrote. I was about to start my letter with the jagged stone clenched tightly when my Mother shouted, Ferenc.

I heard her, but didn’t make a sound. I wasn’t afraid of her voice, but rather her eyelashes. They were like long, pointed lances. I thought they would lash out from their settings and stab me. I also thought that Stephan was going to kill me. When I didn’t reply, my Mother shouted Ferenc once more.

This time her voice was coming from by the window. I turned and looked, but I couldn’t see her. I gazed back at the ground. While I wondered whether or not to write my letter, my Mother came up to me with a basket in her hand.

She said, Ferenc for the third time. I replied, Mother without looking at her face.
 Ferenc, I’m going to the village. I don’t want you going over to the German farm. Your brothers and sister will be here shortly and you can tell them I’ll be right back, my mother said in a soft, but orderly voice.

I just couldn’t reconcile the softness of her voice with her eyelashes as without a word further, Mother walked off towards the village. I abandoned the idea of writing my father a letter. In any case, he wasn’t going to come because he loved the army more than us. I first wiped away the soldier, then the horse and then the bird. I then drew a line over the apple trees and got to my feet. After drinking some water out of the pipe in the corner of our garden, I looked behind at Mother. She was flitting amongst the houses of the village. The village houses looked as though they were squeezed between the river and the hill. There were no other signs of life other than the shimmering of the colorful leaves of the trees and Mother walking.

I wandered aimlessly around the outside of our home a few times. I shut the garden gate tightly and started running enthusiastically towards the German farm. I flew along with my small steps.

I veered from the paved road onto the footpath. This was the shortcut to the German farm. I hadn’t gone two or three hundred steps through the trees when I heard a rustling noise. I was spooked and ran back towards the paved road, screaming Mommy! as I went. Reaching the paved road, I stopped and turned to see that nobody was around. I bent down, peered amongst the trees and still didn’t see anyone. Looking up at the sky, I saw a large bird flying upwards. I sat at the edge of the road and started to laugh. My laughter suddenly turned to tears. I was crying because I was scared. Had Stephan seen me frightened by a bird, he not only would have ridiculed me, he would have also laughed cruelly every time he saw me...

As my sobbing subsided, I headed back towards the footpath to prove I wasn’t the least bit scared. I sprinted uphill even faster than before and ran breathlessly until I reached the first flat area. I was exhausted and leaned against the thick trunk of an oak tree. The cool wind whistled through the trees and licked the sweat from my child’s body. As the sweat cooled, the fear I attempted to stifle, growled back and settled in my heart. As my fear grew, all the trees large and small took on human form and started shrieking at me. Scared out of my wits, I couldn’t take the chance of going back. Covering my hands over my ears, I started sprinting up the hill again to the German farm which was closer than our house.

While I was running, I was also screaming for help, but nobody could hear me as all the big and small trees were also running and shrieking behind me. There were just a few steps before I reached the second flat area, but for some reason, I just couldn’t complete those few steps. It was as if something was pulling me back, stretching out the seemingly very short way that remained. As the way stretched out, I was losing all hope. Suddenly, as I rolled towards a dark desperate hole, my foot stumbled over something. I tripped and fell flat on my face on the path. I immediately began to crawl with the agility my fear prompted. I finished the hill in no time and made it up to the second smaller flat area. The trees grew sparsely on the flat land, and after crawling a while longer amongst the small bushes, I was just about to pull myself together and get to my feet when I saw a snake which had stuck its head out of the undergrowth and was flicking his forked-tongue in the air. My heart began beating as if it was about to leap from my chest. While a cold sweat ran down my back, my arms and legs shook. Losing my strength and courage, I sprawled out on the footpath. While gazing at the snake with bleary eyes, my ears were roaring. First the snake’s forked tongue made my eyes go haywire, then the sound of roaring trees filled my ears. All the trees leaned over to the snake, shrieking, Hey snake, what are you waiting for, wrap yourself around his neck!

2

Mother hid us near the river so we could cross it in times of danger. Before leaving us, she gave Anton a stern warning, If you’re left with no choice, have Margrit and your little brothers cross the river first, then follow. Don’t let the blanket get wet while crossing, it takes too long to dry. Then she looked at us, saying; Turn dry leaves over wherever you pass so I can find you easily in the forest on the other side. If your food runs out, try to find something in the forest. Most importantly, don’t stray from each other. If you want to come home, look at the garden after sunset, you can come home if I’ve lit a fire, otherwise definitely stay away, and she walked away.

Blowing from the river, the wind got into my ragged clothes. It wandered heavily around my body like a mute, blind snake. I was cold. Crawling from where I sat, I snuggled up to Margrit. Anton and Stephan also came over. The four of us turned our backs to each other and listened to the forest for a while. Just when we had warmed a little with each other’s body heat, a strange roar suddenly began to be heard from over by the river.


I looked at Anton in fear. Anton’s face had turned a jaundiced yellow.

He said, Gal, I don’t know what’s going on either, as if to reply to my inquiring glance.

Sensing my fear, Margrit hugged me. Stephan looked at him, whispering, It’s all your fault.

Anton glared at him, as if to say, Shut your trap. Stephan didn’t reply and turned his head away from the river in an attempt to avoid his glance. During this quiet interlude, I established the roles in our group inside my head. Accordingly, with the authority vested in him by Mother, Anton was both the group’s protector and its leader. Margrit was second-in-command. I looked after the two of them. As for Stephan, he not only was in third-place, he was also forced to submit to Anton and Margrit. While he loved nobody but Mother and didn’t take orders from anyone, he was now forced to obey his older brother and sister. I supposed it was not going to very easy for him.

The roar coming from the river began to increase steadily. I’d never heard such a sound before. It was like the throbbing hum that came from the end of a pipe. We all had goose bumps listening to this unfamiliar sound. While wondering what this unfamiliar sound was and giving each other bewildered looks, Stephan suddenly piped up with, The noise is coming from by the river. The river is very close. Shall I go and take a look, Anton? I’ll keep out of sight.

Without answering, Anton stared at the trees that shaded us for a while, then blinked his eyelashes, just like Mother’s, as if to say ‘yes.’ Waiting impatiently for this sign, Stephan leapt out immediately. The three of us watched him from behind. His legs were incredibly thin. Someone who didn’t know him would take one look at those spindly legs and assume he was ill. However, those spider’s legs of Stephan’s were indeed quite powerful. Stepping agilely, it wasn’t long before Stephan was lost amongst the trees. Our lips were tightly drawn as we sank into a fearful silence. I held Margrit’s hand in order to share the solitude that stemmed from that silence. Margrit’s hand was quite hot. Perhaps it was because mine was cold. I grasped Anton’s hand with my other hand. Both caressed my hands with their fingers, as I tried to measure which of their hands was bigger. Anton’s hand was huge. My hand got lost in his palm. I suddenly thought my hand was going to suffocate there. I felt the urge to pull back my hand to rescue it. Tensing my muscles, I smiled to myself and thought, Hands don’t suffocate, do they? My hands got quite warm in both their palms. But my jaw began to tremble. While trying to stop trembling, my jaw was doing everything it could to continue. My brother and sister were bigger and stronger than me. I loved them both very much, but I didn’t want their pity if they saw my chattering chin. Anyways, Stephan would be back soon. He’d make fun of me if he saw me trembling. No matter how much I’d tried to hide it, he’d know I was trembling, because like his legs, his mind was quite agile as well. Even if he didn’t do anything, his looks could poison someone more acutely than the most venomous snake. Then he’d silently slither off so as not to give away the fact it was he who gave the poisonous dose. Quite possibly there wasn’t anyone in the world who was as sly or was as composed as him. He never thought of anyone but himself. Although he was older than me, he’d never take me under his wing. He’d arouse my secret feelings of animosity just because he didn’t protect me. I couldn’t fathom why he hated me. I suppose he was happiest just making me miserable. I especially remember the torture he put me through when Mother brought home the clothes the German kids had outgrown. None of these hand-me-downs would fit him as he was too tall. He got jealous when Mother made me put them on. His jealously drove him into a rage, he double-crossed me, taking me to a muddy patch around the corner from the house. There, his foxy slyness got the better of me as he tried to console me once my new clothes had become all muddy. What really made his day was the moment Mother got angry at me. Every time she got upset, I’d cry, pouting my lips through fear. The moment I pouted was the moment Stephan got his kicks. He’d laugh furtively while Mother was there then burst out loud when Mother went out of sight. Once his laughing subsided, he’d exclaim, Gal, you know I had nothing to do with that.

It wasn’t Mother getting angry, but rather Stephan’s laughter and silly attitude that upset me. I’d cry, winding up the racket to a higher pitch. Giving me a stunned look, Stephan would try to get me to pipe down, afraid that Mother would come back into the room. He’d give me whatever he had in his hands and swear he’d never get me muddy again. His protestations relaxed me and I’d stop my crying. I’d sigh and he’d extend his thin fingers to wipe my tears away. I enjoyed feeling his skinny fingers on my skin. I’d forget all his wickedness. I perceived what happened as part of a game we played. Later on, I’d do whatever I could to continue our game and to gain his acceptance, as I had no other friends to play with. Aware of this, he always played crafty games with me. Now it was as if he were playing a game with us by going off amongst the trees to the riverbank. Not returning for what seemed to be an age, Anton began to get impatient and angry. He blamed himself as it was he who had fallen the most for Stephan’s sneaky game. I grasped why he muttered to himself and his frequent repeating of the promise he made to Mother. Seeing how Anton was worried, Margrit tweaked his slightly drooping nose on both sides, then said, Pani wouldn’t stay still anywhere. He’ll be back in a bit. There’s no need to worry about him.

Gazing at the silent trees where the roar had died in our dark corner amongst the thicket, Anton replied pensively, No matter what, I shouldn’t have forgotten so soon what Mother said. I shouldn’t have sent him.

Wrapping the blanket around me, Margrit said, Even if you hadn’t sent him, he still would have found an opportunity and gone. It’s a good thing you sent him otherwise you’d have started an argument. You know he knows this place pretty well, so there’s no need to worry.

I knew she uttered that last sentence intentionally, which is why I gave her a meaningful look. She squeezed my hand and grinned, You also know around here quite well.

I was very curious about this reverberating pipe-like roar. But I wasn’t able to learn anything until Stephan returned. Perhaps it was a sound we heard every day, but one that was altered by the forest. Suddenly the three of us heard a rustling sound. Instantly, we held our collective breath. I was frightened. Perhaps Margrit was also frightened, but she didn’t have goose bumps like me. The three of us looked in the same direction but couldn’t see anything. Suddenly, Margrit’s face took on a bewildered expression. She pointed towards a short tree with her finger. The tree was shaking slightly, but whatever was shaking it was out of sight. Stephan wouldn’t pull