Sammy's New Job

The room was quite dark and Sammy could just make out some barrels standing in a row .  He eyed them with a sense of alarm.
 The first barrel had a label on it 'Personality traits, '. He lifted the lid slightly just enough to peer inside. A sweet smelling breeze escaped ruffling his wings and enveloping him in a warm glow. Encouraged by this he lifted the lid some more and could see honest, loyal, bright, brilliant, brave and friendly, patient, understanding, all on the surface.
 Sammy put the lid back. He liked the sound of loyal, friendly and brave, also faithful, excitable and amusing.

Sammy went to the next barrel and lifted the lid right up. He reeled back in fright as a torrid pungent very unpleasant smell hit him with force. A slimy green foam was oozing over the edge. He slammed the lid back on and read the label, 'Personality traits, bad'. Sammy shivered and gritted his teeth. A noise behind him made him turn round. He could make out a shape in the corner near the other two barrels. For the first time he became aware that the last two barrels were gleaming and shining in the darkness of the room. The shape in the corner moved and Sammy called out.

' Hello, who's there?'

The shape came towards him and he could make out a long white beard and a midnight blue cloak.

With no introduction the shape spoke, warmth and calm in the voice,

'Hello Sammy we've been waiting for you.'

Sammy nodded towards the barrels.

'I'm not really sure what to do. It's so different from where I was before. I only had one barrel there and it was full of nice things .

'Sammy you've done so well that you will be just fine, follow your instincts. I'll stay with you for awhile in case you have any questions.

Sammy went back to the first barrel and looked at its contents. There was so much there, agreeable, adventurous,generous, funny, friendly, warm-hearted, kind, efficient, cheerful, positive, jovial, happy, patient, caring, loving, diligent, shy, ambitious, assertive, honest, true, faithful.. the list went on and on. Sammy felt happy just looking at them all.

Then he braced himself and took the lid off the other barrel, he held his breath and felt himself recoil, slovenly, selfish, weak, lazy, aggressive, conceited, mean, greed, envy, jealousy, hatred, he shuddered.

'Why do they have to have all these horrible traits?'

There was a sighing noise that swept round the room.

'Human beings are different.  They can be blessed with excellent qualities that bring joy and happiness to all that meet them but they all have some bad things too, some more than others, but all of them. There is one thing though that will help them be able to survive. They have the gift of free will and they can improve themselves all on their own, with their actions, their attitudes and their behaviour.'

Sammy felt confused but tried not to show it.

'You mean they are responsible for their actions attitude and behaviour? They can improve all by themselves?'

'It's a tricky thing though and I'm still working on it that's why there are those big silver and gold barrels at the end.'

'What's in them? Can I see''

'Oh yes, you must. You will use those a lot. You will have to. In the silver one is Love and in the gold one there is Forgiveness. Use them freely. They will help the human beings heal.'

Sammy walked towards the barrels and saw that there was another row behind.

'What are all those barrels for' What must I do?'

A gust of wind swept into the room and the midnight cloak moved towards the door.

'You will have to work hard Sammy. You see human beings hurt each other, they even kill each other. They do a lot of harm to each other. That's what's stored in the barrels at the back, resentment, bitterness, self loathing, it's not a pretty sight. There's even one for misunderstandings and revenge.'

Sammy gasped, 'Human beings sound very complicated and not very nice.'

The wind died down and the cloak disappeared, just the voice came on the breeze,

'The problem is that they are very fragile.'
There was a warm comforting breeze and Sammy was aware of great strength and goodness.

 Good luck Sammy with your new job.'

Lucky Lips - Cliff Richard & The Shadows

Strawberry jam time Again, a song for Serbia

The sweet scent of cherry blossom wafted through the open window and Olivera sat up in bed and leaned across to look at her watch. She shook Dragan her husband and he stretched out  his arm to pull her towards him, his eyes still firmly closed.
Olivera kissed him gently on the lips and got out of bed.

'I'm so happy Dragan. Monika and Nikolett will be here soon, we're going to make strawberry jam.'

Dragan sat up  and looked at her.

'We've come home at last, it will be like old times.'

A shadow passed over Olivera's face.

'Well let's hope it's better than old times Dragan. Last time I made strawberry jam was over twenty years ago. A lot of water has gone under the bridge since then.
Do you remember how we used to have to queue for coffee and oil and then we'd be lucky if there was any left? All those shortages. Look at the supermarkets now! everything all wrapped up in little plastic boxes. There's more packaging than food.'

Dragan got out of bed and went to stand at the open window. His shoulders slumped and his voice took on a melancholy quality when he spoke.

' I remember the market under our block of flats when we first got married. At this time of year there were mountains of fresh juicy strawberries, plump red cherries and orange melons. They cost so little and we would go home laden with baskets full of fruit. You and my mother and little Nikolett

would have a jam making day. Then later on when the plums were ripe my father taught me how to make Slivovica. He told me to use the plums that the wasps settled on. He said wasps will only drink the juices of the healthy plums.'

There was a catch in his voice and Olivera went to put her arms round him.

'That Slivovica was certainly a way to drown your sorrows. I remember my grandfather putting it in oak barrels. He'd tell us that it would make everything alright. In the Winter months when the market had only cabbages, onions and potatoes to offer, the Slivovica and the strawberry jam brought the sunshine into our homes.'

Dragan turned round and smiled, visibly more relaxed.

'I feel hungry now. Fried potatoes, braised cabbage and sour cream all washed down with Plum brandy. That kept the cold away.'

As Olivera made the strong Turkish coffee that Dragan liked so much and put out the jars for the jam making session she looked at the calendar on the wall. May 4th 2015.
She tensed as she realised it was the day whenTito had passed on in 1980, changing their lives in ways none of them could have envisaged.

She had been twenty- seven and Dragan thirty and they already had two children, Nikolette and Mirko.
 Olivera had been just fifteen years old when her father had arranged her marriage to Dragan. She smiled as she remembered how frightened she'd been. She'd even run away twice but her father had caught her and taken her back. She knew she'd been one of the lucky ones. Dragan had a heart of gold and without him to protect her when the war clouds opened above their heads she dared not think what could have happened to her. All they had been through together had given them both a deep bond of trust and love.

A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts. Her daughter Nikolett with her husband Tomas came in and hugged her.

'Oh mama it's so lovely to have you home at last, I can't believe it.' She grinned to hide the tears that had appeared in her eyes.

'Monika will miss all the presents you always brought back from Italy, but hopefully we'll find them here too one day.'

Tomas went to look for Dragan who was busy in the garden.

'Come on in and we'll have coffee before starting on the jam making. I've got everything ready and hope I remember the recipe my grandmother taught me., I know there was about a kilo of strawberries, four cups of sugar and a the juice of half a lemon. Where is Monika?'

The door opened again and Monika came in. She had her head down and was tapping away on her new iPhone. Without a word she went to sit at the table and started taking photos of her new tattoo, holding her leg out and turning her ankle to the side to show off the rose that was climbing up her calf and the name Nikola written around it.

Olivera grinned at her daughter and gave her a wink.

'well let's hope Nikola stays around awhile,'

All she got was a withering glance from her granddaughter who held her hair back and pouted into her phone to take a selfie and send it to her boyfriend.

'When I was your age Monika I was already married to your grandfather and your mother was a baby.'

Monika shrugged her shoulders and pouted even more.

'What was it you wanted to do Grandma, I've got to meet my friends and we're going to a  rock concert in Novi Sad.'

'It won't take long Monika I've got everything ready. Off you go Nikolett and sit in the garden with that husband of yours.'

Olivera moved to the window to watch them in the garden. Her son-in-law had a limp and a nervous tick and her daughter told her that he still woke up in the night screaming. She turned back to her granddaughter who was sprawled out showing a great deal of thigh.

'It's so nice to be home for good now Monika I have missed you so much. Now let me show you how to sterilize the jars and prepare the fruit. I never did anything like this in Italy so it's new for me too.'

She started humming to herself and was surprised when Monika joined in. She stopped when she saw the way her grandmother was smiling at her.

'It's a song I learnt to play on dad's old accordion.'

Olivera popped a juicy red strawberry into Monika's mouth and kissed her on the cheek. After that it was easy. they worked together side by side. Oliver told Monika how important it was to sterilize and make sure no bacteria could get in. she showed her how to test the jam to make sure it was at setting point. She put a plate in the freezer and then put a small amount of jam on it, then she traced her finger gently threw the mixture to see if it left a mark.

'Once when I was a girl Monika I over boiled the jam and it set so hard that my grandma said she could use it as a weapon.'

Monika laughed and took lots of photos of the jam to send to her friends on her phone.

'When I first went away to Italy with grandpa I use to send you dolls and bicycles, later you wanted party dresses and blue jeans. I'm glad you like the phone.'

Monika put down her phone and went to hug her grandmother.

'Thank you grandma for all the lovely presents you've brought us. Dad and Mum say you and grandpa have made it possible for them to keep on living here and they say it's amazing how grandpa has learnt to build houses and do gardens.'

They looked out of the window together with their arms around each other. Nikolett turned and saw them and ran to the house.

?how's it going? Have you finished?'

Monika nodded towards the jars and then went to sprawl across the couch and fiddle with her phone. She gave a sideways glance to her grandmother and beamed at her.


That evening while they were getting ready for bed Olivera went to stand at the window and breathe in the warm spring air. She could smell the jasmine and lilac blossom and saw some fireflies darting about in the darkness.

'Dragan just think I won't ever have to clean someone else's toilet again. I'll miss lots of the people that I worked for and be grateful for their kindness but from now on we'll always feel at home.'

She leaned out of the window and saw the new moon.

'Come here Dragan and make a wish.'

Dragan went to stand beside her and whispered to the starlit sky.

' I wish that the only loud noises from Novi Sad will be rock music and that men like Tomas will find peace and you Olivera'.

She laughed and closed her eyes.
' I wish that girls like Monika will always be able to pout and fall in an out of love, sulk and sprawl, and I wish they will always make jam with their grandmothers to bring sunshine into the Winter.'

She closed the window and put out the light.

 

Apple blossom

Strawberry shortbread

Making memories, making jam

The bright sunshine filtered through the gap in the curtains and streamed across the room to warm Snezana's face.
There was a knock at the door and she opened her eyes. Her son Bojan came in bearing a tray of Turkish coffee.


Bojan put the tray down, handed her a cup and sat on the bed.

'This is as strong as I could make it, I thought it would make you feel at home.'

Snezana sipped at the coffee and patted his hand.

'You were born with such a kind heart Bojan, I thought that was enough but then you turned out to be so clever too, and handsome,   I am so proud of you.'

Bojan laughed and stood up,

'It's enough for me that you think that. Take your time getting ready and then Emma is going to show you round the countryside and for lunch. I have got to go to the surgery but will be home this evening and then we will have the whole weekend. It is wonderful to have you here.'

Snezana finished her coffee and went to look out of the window. It was a beautiful  spring day and she could see along the street. There were lots of trees thick with pink or white blossoms, she opened the window to breathe in their scent.

 For a moment she was back in Smederevo, her childhood home. How she had loved the blossom time.

 Her grandfather's voice echoed around her,' See Snezana the blossom is full of spring sunshine and when it falls there will soon be plump cherries and plums. If you look at the blossom closely you will be able to tell which is cherry and which is plum.' Here he would gather up the blossom and hold it out to her.' There is a small split at the end of each petal of the cherry blossom which the plum doesn't have. the blossom would fall like snow and her grandfather told her that her name Snezana meant Snow Princess.  Her grandmother taught her how to  make jam with all the wonderful abundant supply of fruit that grew in the fields around them. Cherries, damsons, plums, but it was the strawberries she loved the most. Snezana would pretend the strawberries were princesses with little green crowns and sweet faces. Her grandmother always said that making strawberry jam was like storing up love and sunshine for the Winter. She said that children were a bit like that too, they needed lots of love when they were little to cope with what lies ahead. Snezana couldn't imagine any other life then. She shivered as she thought of her life and how broken hearted her grandparents would have been if they had known.

Snezana sighed and went to get ready to join Emma her English daughter-in-law.


xxxxx

Emma opened the car door for her mother-in-law. She had seen her many times on Skype and Bojan had taught Emma to say simple phrases but she knew it would be a problem to communicate so she had asked Bojan to tell his mother that she had decided to take her out into the countryside and show her the blossom and bluebell woods. They would stop for a sandwich in a pub and then meet up with him at home after his surgery.
It was a beautiful day and Emma smiled at Snezana and pointed to the blossoms as they drove along. Snezana could only nod and smile back. After awhile they drove past a large farm with a sign with a picture of strawberries saying 'Pick your own' and Snezana motioned for Emma to stop.
They parked the car by the Farm shop and got out. There was a stack of baskets and a counter with a weighing machine and Snezana went towards them clearly showing her intention. Emma smiled and followed. She hadn't done anything like this since she was about eight years old when she went to stay with her grandmother in Suffolk.
The two women took a basket each and went to the nearest row of strawberries. Emma watched her mother-in-law bend down and fill her basket with the strawberries, expertly and quickly.
She looked so much like Bojan when he was excited about something that Emma couldn't help laughing.
 It was Bojan's enthusiasm that had first drawn her to him. That and his handsome kind face.  Now she could see how he had taken after his mother and there seemed to be no trace of the father who had abandoned them.
 They had the same bright blue intelligent eyes and soft blonde hair, the same tall build., but last night Emma had noticed a guarded look that hinted at hidden depths of pain in Snezana's eyes.
All she knew from Bojan was that Snezana had gone to work in Italy and Germany, leaving him in the care of his grandmother like many other young women from her village.  She had sent so much money home for his studies and he had worked hard knowing instinctively that it was her gift to him.
 Bojan had rewarded her by winning a  scholarship to a British university and was now a highly acclaimed GP in Oxford.
Emma had met him while working as a Physiotherapist and it had been love at first sight for both of them. They had married five months after their first date. Emma's parents had retired to live in Shropshire and opened a Bed and Breakfast but they came to the Registry Office wedding and paid for a  honeymoon in Scotland.
It had taken Bojan a long time to get the permits for his mother's visit and he was looking forward to showing his mother around the beautiful English countryside.

Snezana's basket was full and she went to fetch another one. Emma couldn't think what they'd do with all this fruit and then as if reading her mind Snezana picked up a jar near the till put in a strawberry and pointed to it.

Emma laughed, ' Jam! You want to make jam! Of course! What a great idea!'

When they'd paid for all the strawberries Emma drove into town and showed Snezana round the supermarket where she picked up sugar, lemons and then some glass jam jars. She paid for them all herself, pushing Emma gently but firmly aside.

At home Emma showed Snezana  round the kitchen taking out saucepans and wooden spoons and then sat and watched as Snezana deftly prepared the fruit and all the ingredients. Soon the kitchen was filled with the smell of summer, of promises of sunshine and fruit pies and happy laughing company. Emma made them both some coffee and they sat admiring the filled jars of strawberry jam.

The door opened and Bojan came in. His face lit up at the sight of the women that he loved so much sitting there in such a companionable way.

 Emma ran to him and kissed him and hugged him, and then beckoned to his mother to join them. The three of them stood there hugging each other, and looking at the jam. Emma moved away and beamed at them. Then she patted her flat stomach and mimed rocking a baby. Bojan and his mother stared at her then simultaneously broke out in a gabble of their own language, laughing and talking at the same time.

xxxxx

As Snezana prepared for bed that evening, the house quiet and peaceful, she thought of her son and his lovely English wife in the room near her, whispering in joyful tones about the baby on the way and, for the first time in her life, she felt proud of herself .

She had worked so hard to earn the money so her son could study and be free, to make something of his life. No-one would ever know what it had cost her, how her spirit had been broken so many times but the thought of Bojan had kept her going.
The thought of Bojan and the joy and sunshine that her grandparents had given her long ago in Smederevo.  Like the strawberry jam she thought, we must bottle up sunshine while we can to keep us going through the dark times.

Bluebell woods near Oxford