TE16 Turkish Delight

A Long-Awaited Arrival (short story) by Nalan Barbarosoğlu Translated from Turkish by Eylül Deniz Doğanay

Continuing Oğuz Atay’s Railway Storytellers: Revisiting A Dream

“Kafka was always our model, we agree. How is it possible that a human being could write like that?, W. says, again and again.” 1

The night express, pulled by its loud and ponderous locomotive, had at last entered the station. This arrival was due three days ago. The station chief was asleep in his post. The train stopped between cargo wagons and the platform, on the same rail line it had come in on. I hurried to stand and get out, like all the other merchants who’d been half-awake in the waiting lounge. Some were trying to rub the sleep from their eyes, some were fixing their clothes, while waves of passengers flooded the platform. I remembered to get my story basket and quickly ran to my shed; the man with the fedora must have got off the train just then. A while later, the guy who sold apples let me know that one of the passengers had been asking for the young Jew. I looked around and saw who he was talking about. He was easy to pick out, standing among carriers and like he didn’t knowwhat to make of himself. Tobe fair, the insufficient lighting inour stationdidmake 1. From Spurious by Lars Iyer (2011-Melville House Publishing) 101