Winter Sleep Page #3

"one of the area's poorest villages

to teach crafts and writing

"to the women of the village.

"The mukhtar helped

as much as he could.

"However, despite all our efforts,

our resources ran out

"with the work not finished.

"We applied for support to the

municipality, but we were rejected.

"We have been left helpless,

all alone in the middle of this steppe,

"with all our good intentions

and hopes.

"While we sat disheartened

seeking a solution,

"I suddenly remembered your article

'Flowers of the Steppes'.

"It felt as if you were describing us.

"Me and my friends read

that article again in tears.

"Believe me, my intention

is not emotional blackmail.

"I want you to know

that I would never feel ashamed

"to bow in front of a good person

like you to beg for help

"for the unfortunate people

of these arid steppes

"where I am proud to be born.

"I'll be brief.

"Since we heard about your connections

with the wealthy people of the region

"and the administration,

"and we know you are well connected,

even as far away as Istanbul,

"we wanted to tell you

of our situation.

"We would like to thank you,

however you respond.

"Yours sincerely."

So, well...

That's it.

I don't know.

She appears to be a well-intentioned,

decent, intelligent girl.

Clearly an idealist,

bold and courageous.

Seems like she deserves

some support.

What do you think?

Nihal?

Frankly...

it didn't sound to me very...

I get this every day from all over.

OK.

What exactly

didn't sound right to you?

Well...

Isn't it a bit of a luxury

to build a new place just for this?

It's a tiny village after all.

Normally the mukhtar

gives a space for these things.

You decorate it a bit and you manage.

So I felt it sounded a bit too much.

Even the municipality

refused to help them.

We'll have a hard time finding

common sense in municipal decisions.

Well, I don't know.

And you, Suavi?

I really don't know.

Don't you think you and I,

and a few other local worthies

could get together?

Dear Aydin,

do I really look like a worthy?

My belly is my only worthy feature,

and it's now independent.

However,

I must say

you surprised me, Nihal.

Why?

Well...

Because thanks to you this hotel

has been run like a charity for years.

What are you trying to say?

Well...

When a chronic philanthropist,

who has helped

almost every school in the area,

opposes this idea so firmly,

I fail to understand.

What is there to understand?

It's a matter of urgency.

There are primary schools

with leaky roofs and rotten windows.

Little kids studying

with their gloves on.

Isn't it more logical

to solve these problems first?

We've been collecting donations

for this for a long time now.

But it never attracted

your attention.

So I don't understand

your sudden charity.

Anyway, I'm expecting guests.

I have to go.

Mr Suavi, could you come and see me

for a minute before you leave?

Sure. I'll drop by.

Then I won't say goodbye.

See you shortly.

You know what?

All this poverty and hardship

is like a natural disaster.

In a sense, it's the will of God.

You can't oppose destiny.

But God also gave us intelligence

to fight such things.

That's true.

That's true, however...

there are people

specially created for such tasks.

You should leave

these tasks to them.

You're a creative man.

You are an artist.

Why bother yourself with such things?

Stick to your own work.

Mr Aydin, Hamdi is here.

- Who's Hamdi?

- Hamdi hodja, the imam.

Fine, I was leaving anyway.

Stay a little bit more.

I have loads of work to do.

Loads of work to do on the farm.

I'll show Suavi out.

Bring Hamdi hodja in here.

All right.

Welcome, Hamdi hodja.

Thank you, Mr Aydin.

You could've kept your shoes on.

It's not that clean.

No, Mr Aydin. My shoes got muddy.

It's better like this.

- Some slippers then.

- No, I'm fine.

Hold on.

The floor is very cold in here.

Fatma, bring me a pair of slippers.

And some tea and cookies.

OK.

Take a seat, Hamdi hodja.

Yes, Hamdi hodja. I'm listening.

To tell you the truth,

I don't know where to begin.

When you came the other day,

it was a bit...

Sorry, just a minute.

It's a bit stuffy in here.

If you don't mind...

I'll open a window.

Yes?

Honestly, I don't know how to put it.

It was embarrassing for us,

I'm sorry, but...

we didn't mean badly, of course.

The kid made a mistake because

he was upset by what happened.

But he's just a kid, after all.

Of course, he is.

But have you asked him why he did it?

After all, the incident

could have had

quite serious consequences.

Yes, of course, I asked him.

And what did he say?

Well, Mr Aydin...

the kid was upset

by the debt collector,

so he went and did

such a stupid thing.

Especially seeing his father

get beaten up.

Beaten up?

When the debt collectors came,

Ismail tried to stop them obviously.

And the police were there.

So things got out of hand.

I see.

So our car paid the price, right?

More or less, Mr Aydin.

I apologise.

But now the boy

feels really bad about it.

He wants to come over

and kiss your hand for forgiveness.

No. No need for that.

He regrets it. Really.

But as I said the other day,

we always pay our debts.

I actually have some money now.

So I came to pay for the car window.

How much was it?

It doesn't matter.

Sort it out with Hidayet.

I don't know much about it.

I think it was 70 liras or something.

But it's best you talk with Hidayet.

70 liras?

70 liras for just one window?

That's right.

And it is not the brand-name one.

If it had been...

Hidayet can show you the bill.

Well...

I'm not sure if I have enough on me.

Let me just ask Hidayet

how much it was.

It's no big deal.

There's no rush.

After all, it's just a window.

You think so?

In that case,

I'd better not pay in instalments.

I'll pay it all in one go, then.

Just to prevent any confusion.

- Hello.

- You there?

Nothing, I just wanted to ask

how much the window cost.

I remember you saying 70 liras.

Really?

I got it wrong then.

OK, all right.

Fine, no problem. Never mind.

I was wrong. It's 170, not 70.

170 liras?

But how come?

That's how much it cost.

Hidayet can show you the bill.

I forgot to ask

if he took a bill though.

That's strange.

It's just a window.

Really strange.

There must be some mistake, surely.

What's this?

Are there no men's slippers?

No, we don't use any at the hotel.

Fatma had these at home.

No worries, these will do.

As long as they keep the cold off.

Where shall I put the tea?

Here. Let me move this.

Hamdi hodja, come here.

Thank you.

Now, Hamdi, listen...

I've got various houses

and shops in town.

Not just mine actually...

They're my sister Necla's too.

If I tried

to look after them all myself,

I'd have no time to work

on my book and articles.

See what I mean?

So I let Hidayet and the lawyers

deal with the rent and lawsuits.

I often don't even know

what they're doing.

And if they tell me,

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes