We strolled through the Old City past soldiers carrying machine guns at the ready.
Pops didn’t seem to notice, intent on educating us.
“This gate only looks old,” he said. “Ottoman Turks built it in 1898 so the Kaiser didn’t have to walk. Wide enough for a carriage.”
An armored car idled in the square, its bristling guns lending it the appearance of a dangerous insect.
Pops walked past, talking. “Homer wrote that dreams pass through gates. The Gate of Horn is for true dreams. False dreams pass through Gates of Ivory.”
I heard a distant explosion roll across the rooftops.
Dear Josh,
A nice (not sure that’s the word I want to use) blending of past with present. In Jerusalem, where I snapped this shot, we passed quite a few young soldiers carrying machine guns. A jarring presence in a beautiful ancient city. Well done.
Shalom,
Rochelle
A gate for true dreams and another for false dreams. I love it
That Homer. He had a million of ’em! ;-)
I love the juxtaposition of the danger with the ethereal.
I sense that Pops is so wrapped in his own dreams that he pushes the unpleasant reality into the background. Great story with powerful contrasts.
Stark contracts in all of this. Quite different, if I may say so. Well done!
A gorgeous tale, spinning a safely distant past with a dangerous present. Makes me wonder how much distance do we need for terror to read as gripping fiction. Wonderfully wrought
Thanks, Lynn!
My pleasure :)
Well done. Now we’re waiting for Pops to wake up and smell the coffee — or the gunpowder.
Nice visual.. love your take on the prompt! :-)
Must agree with everyone here, I love the mix of past and present and I like to think that Pops does not want to believe in today’s world – maybe in the hopes things will change to the way they were? Or maybe he’s just delusional
This is really intriguing. Makes me wish you could finish the story :)
So sad that much of the ancient world is being destroyed or is just too dangerous for travellers to discover in the modern world. I like Pops attitude to it all.
The tragedy of the violence in your story was nicely contrasted by the normalization of it.
I loved your story. The single minded focus of Pops is brilliant. :o)
Thanks for reading, everybody!
I can see why Pops would want to live in the past and deny the present, given the nature of the present. Perhaps his are the true dreams, and the present has come through the wrong gate.
Dear J Hardy Carroll: Pops has the right attitude to make it through an unhappy period in time. He is truly a magnificent dreamer and tries to show the beauty of an ugly world. Good job! Nan
Thanks!
What if we just ignored our grim surroundings and circumstances like ‘pops’? Wouldn’t it make the world a little better place to live? Very powerful writing. Glad to have stumbled across your piece.
Cheers,
Varad
The intersecting of the past and the present is not e happy one. I like the character clash here due to their entirely different perspectives. Very well written.
You create a great sense of occupation but also the surety of knowing it will not succeed
I like the way Pops approaches the world – in a dream tinged with a bit of reality.
Terrorism plaguing the City of David has become part of day to day life.