WITH MY GRANDMOTHER, MYNEVER SHUTERIQI
I went to meet my grandmother. Mynever Shuteriqin
Did not come out today, I asked
No, he said I was waiting for you
Do you go out every day?
Almost every day,
Where are you going?
Here near Toptani, drink coffee
Who do you drink coffee with?
Sometimes alone, sometimes with people
What if friends do not come for coffee?
I no longer have friends, Myneveri said, either sick or dead
Did you miss Gjirokastra?
No, I do not miss Gjirokastra. I am two years old and I have no memories there
Why did you leave Gjirokastra?
The father was a forest clerk and was circulated in various cities
Where else did you live?
Kudo. Lushnje, Elbasan, Delvinë. There I learned a little Greek
I did not know that I know Greek, I told him
All of Delvina spoke Greek and I learned it from elementary school friends
What other language do you speak?
Italian, said Mynever
Where did you learn Italian?
At the Queen Mother school in Tirana
Was it good school?
The best school for girls, the father paid 12 napoleons a year
What teachers did you have at school?
Mostly Italian
Did they know Albanian?
Very little. My Italian teacher was called Signor Dotmasse. She said that Italian is the language of God, French is the language of love, while Albanian is the language of birds. Do you know Italian?
I understand, I said
I will recite Dante Alighieri to you, Mynever asked me
I want to, I told him
Tanto gentile e tanto honesta pare
La donna mia
when the other salute
che va dicendo al anima
Sospira
Translate me, I told him
It looks very sweet and very beautiful
my girlfriend
everyone who sees it
says to himself
sigh
Very beautiful, I said
It's Beatrice's Sonnet, said Mynever, Dante owed him that he loved her
I really do not miss going to Italy, I asked
I was in Italy, only in France I was not. Demetrius, your grandfather always told me, how did I not take you once to France
He loved France very much, I said
He studied there for 6 years, said Myneveri also had a boyfriend
I was telling you girlfriends, I asked
This Blanche story yes
What did Demetrius say about Blanche?
She kept pictures of her at home. Once when the kids were playing and taking pictures they asked me who is this girl who went out with dad. Demetrius became ill because he thought I would become jealous
Were you jealous?
No, said Myneveri. When this photo work with the kids happened, I told Dimitri that I have nothing to do with your previous life and he was relieved
Where did you meet Dhimitr?
In Elbasan during the war. I went out partisan. But the commander of the 17th Brigade told me that you would not come to the mountain. All my friends and comrades fled to war
Why did they not take you, I asked
I was told to deal with the war press, that is, to write communiqués and distribute them. I do not know how to do this job, I told him.
Dhimitri will help, they told me, he is a writer, you will work together
How old were you?
18 at the time. I was put in jail twice
What about in prison?
For these communiqués we wrote. They held me for a week and then released me for lack of evidence
Even so, did you meet Dhimitr?
They took us to an illegal press base that had to be as deep as possible that the Germans could not find.
Where was this place?
On the Slope of Elbasan, in the village of Stërstan
I was on the Slope, I said
I know what Sturstan means, Mynover asked me
No, I told him
Sterstan means beyond the stalls, it was so far away
You think you lived well, I asked
"I think I've gotten more out of life than crazy," Myneveri said
When asked how old are you how do you answer?
That I am as old as I look
When is your birthday?
Today, June 21, with the summer solstice
How old are you?
Jam 100 pa 2, said Myneveri
You should definitely become 100, I told him
I will try, said Mynever
Now I'll take a picture, I told him
Soon, he said, I have to get out
Where are you going?
I'm going to dinner, he said, your brother invited me.