Season Of Pomegranate Sami and Naim Flamuri

Season of Pomegranate Biblioteka: Kujtesa Naim dhe Sami Flamuri ‘Koha e Shegés’ Botimi i paré Janar, 2008 Lektura Bahir Avdiko Arti grafik Gazmend Citaku © copyright, té drejta té rezervuara autorét, Naim dhe Sami Flamuri © i botimit shqip IDEART 2008 Té drejtat e kétij botimi né gjuhén shqipe, pér té gjithé hapésirén shqipfolése Shqipéri, Kosové, Magedoni, i jané rezervuar IDEART. Publikimi dhe riprodhimii né formé té ploté ose té pjesshme kryhet vetém me lejen e botuesit. ISBN 978-99943-43-60-7 CIP i ploté i kétij botimi gjendet né Bibliotekén Kombétare Tirané weeds deeartiebei. cor MATL Wes Ito ee dd 2S cee : Fe RAD Bade Tir ieet Cal> : Tre Fark +6944 4 BE MEARE OEE eee eee eee eee eee eee eee eet Naim & Sami FLAMURI Season of Pomegranate Revised and edited from the original book in Albanian ; “Koha e Shegés” by the authors. 46:15 We have enjoined man to show kindness to his parents. Inspire me Lord, to give thanks for the favours you have bestowed on me and on my parents and to do good works that will please you. Grant me good descendants. To You I turn and to you I submit. Season of Pomegranate Introduction We are Naim and Sami, the Flamuri twins, and we are starting our story, which we have titled, “Season of Pomegranate.” We have baptized the book this way for reasons that you, dear reader will understand in due course and time. To make things easy, let’s say that this is a novel, but in itself this is nothing but a life story, a true story about our life. Some experts in this field will probably classify this book as a real story because it is; but let’s not give any particular name or genre. ‘This book is fiction and non-fiction, and at the same time, a monologue, a dialogue, memories, history, catalogue of photos and a herbarium made with the leaves of remembrance which have faded with the years gone by, and now only live in the memory. To cut it short, this text is always open in perplexity and is being rewritten as we go. In this text, you will meet the unusual fate of an Albanian family, to which we the authors belong. You will continue to be perplexed at our fate, as due to circumstances, we had to endure the hardship of life to ultimately to come together again, under the skin of a pomegranate like the seed of the fallen pomegranate, scattered everywhere. We do not think that we made the impossible possible but at the same time, we have bared our soul for what we thought is our duty to confess. We begin our history with our life journey, the destiny of one family, who in its path, intermediates with other families. Ulqin, the city on the southern 5 Sami & Naim Flamuri shores of the Adriatic Sea. In many instances, you, the dear reader, will find it difficult to know who is narrating the story. Being a twin has its downfalls but let this be a secret because the secrecy and mystery is for us to be kept in trust; a hideout that is hard to unravel. “Yahuu, Yahuu.”, the chanting of the Sufi, Dervish Rasim would mesmerise us. “To the one who believes I am dead SAY I am Alive!!! And to the one who believes I am alive, SAY that I am dead.” This book draws inspiration from that saying and all that is good and smart with high morals of gratitude. Season of Pomegranate Blood Stained Shirt 1969. In this heroic world we have finally arrived; two bodies, two hearts beating like one. We were born twins, from our mother’s womb in Balmain hospital in Sydney, the capital of New South Wales, in faraway Australia. ‘The former Prime Minister of Australia, Mr. Keating during a private conversation referred to Australia as ‘the arse end of the world” to some beginning of it. Then, we did not have knowledge that the bond between two brothers is like an uncut umbilical cord, but we were to learn that later in life. Christ said; “Truly, Truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” The meaning behind this saying of Christ is that first we are born from the womb of our mother, and the second time, from the heavenly breath which will rekindle the spirit of humanity. This is all that I, Naim! had to say. Let’s leave the rest of the confession to Sami’. Somehow, it’s in his ' Naim: The younger twin. * Sami: The older twin. Sami & Naim Flamuri head that the future starts with one error or like the poet Gianni Rodari3, in his reminder to us all; “Often, errors aren't found in words.” Rodari urges, “But in things; it is necessary to correct dictation, but necessary above all things to correct the world.” Let’s let Sami start retelling this story. When we were born, possibly not drunk only from the happiness and glory of being blessed with two healthy twin boys, our father’s wish was for his twins to have some meaningful names that make sense; not only plain names, but also patriotic Albanian names. In any case, not some backward names of an era long gone by when Albania was only a blip in the radar of the Ottoman Empire. My father would not even consider Arab names like Muhammad or Shaban th