Without Mercy

By Lacini

At times, everything is beautiful,
Everything is calm.
At times, everything turns around, and it becomes unpleasant and black.
To find the lost tranquility, one must fight.
Its not enough to be strong in life.
Never lose trust and hope.
Never lose love.
And you will be rewarded.

?Lacini

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse UK
• Release date: Apr 18, 2013
• ISBN: 9781481787833

Book preview

Chapter 1

Times were difficult for a country that had just come out of such a stupid and destructive dictatorship as that of Albania.

The economy of the country was destroyed, smashed, and foolishly invested in futile attempts to survive. Its dictatorship, which we knew would come to an end soon, was going to suffocate from the same rope that it had put around the throat of a small and poor population.

Many families found themselves without anything left. Even the little things that the dictatorship had given were not there anymore—no more jobs, no more help, no more… anything.

The word nothing became representative of what was left and what could come. People survived by taking on debt simply to live, helping each other and trying to create jobs in any way possible. It wasn’t a question of making lots of money. If there was enough to eat, that was good enough.

In a small town near the city of Shkoder, there lived a poor family composed of four people: a mother and her three children, two boys and a girl.

The husband wasn’t living anymore. A bad incident had taken his life away a year earlier. Because of this, the family had more problems than others.

The older son, Aleks, had just finished high school, and at nineteen, he couldn’t even find a job. The daughter had gone to high school as well, and she was very smart, just like her brother. Unfortunately, neither of them could continue their undergraduate studies. Even the youngest child, Giuliano, five years old, felt and understood that they were very poor.

Many times there was not enough to eat, and the mother purposely went without a meal to give her food to her hungry children. They lived by working the land and raising animals. They did everything themselves by hand because they didn’t have the necessary machinery. Their house was not what one would call a real house. It was more like a hut.

The biggest surprise was that within the family and within those poor walls, the joy was never missing.

All the members of the family felt so attached to each other that they couldn’t be happy for even one day if one of them was missing. Love was the head of the house within those walls and within their hearts, their poor but big hearts.

Aleks, being the oldest of the three, felt more responsible for the family and tried hard to figure out a way to make some money to help his family survive. The whole town was poor, and those poor people encouraged each other every day. But Aleks, at such a young age, couldn’t do much to help. Many of his friends had emigrated to other countries already, hoping to find a job—any humble job—to earn something that would maintain their families.

But for Aleks’s family, it was different. Who would Aleks leave behind if he decided to leave the country? A mother and two children. Who would help his mother work the land and tend the livestock? She wouldn’t be able to do it all by herself. This was why Aleks hadn’t left like the majority of his peers.

Summer went by quickly. The family worked together to gather as much as they could to prepare for the coming winter. And so the days had flown by.

Autumn was the season when small groups of boys usually left for other countries in search of jobs. The luckiest ones, those who had money to pay for their trips, went to Italy in small rubber dinghies. The poorest made the journey to Greece, which involved many days of travel—walking—until they reached the bigger Greek towns where they might be able to find jobs.

It was in the beginning of that autumn that one of Aleks’s friends came back from Greece. He had been in Greece for six months, and he felt lucky because he had been able to work constantly. Artan was a very nice guy. He offered drinks to all his friends, as none of them had a penny in their pockets.

One day, Aleks and his friend Artan went together into the city to purchase various things for his friend’s house. Aleks was surprised that, after only a few months, his friend had earned enough to be able to afford all those things.

You earned quite a lot of money, Aleks said to him.

Yes, thank God, I was lucky, was Artan’s answer.

Early in afternoon, they had to go back to their town because there were no buses later in the day. They spent a very nice evening at Artan’s house among friends. They were very young, only teenagers in their years, but their harsh life had made them mature.

My friend, you shouldn’t dream about going abroad, Artan said to Aleks. "It’s not as people describe it here.

Yes, but you brought back some money after working only a few months, said Aleks. You’re able to do a lot.

Yes, that’s true. But don’t think that it’s a good life or easy money. You have to spit out blood and eat shit to earn that money. Maybe one day you’ll see yourself, although I don’t wish for that to happen to you.

I hope it happens as soon as possible, said Aleks. You know my situation. I don’t have to tell you about it. And Aleks concluded the dialogue between the two.

Days and the weeks passed by. Aleks was becoming a true man, who thought of his family and took all the responsibility on his shoulders. His little brother was growing up fast but healthy. His lovely sister was doing even better at school, and the mother—apart from the fact that she missed her husband, the father of her children—was very happy with her kids.

The winter came quickly. For a guy like Aleks, with thousands of concerns and problems, the cold winter days never seemed to end. There was less work, and therefore one lived by saving on everything he could.

Aleks had promised his sister, Linda, that he would do everything possible to help her follow her undergraduate studies. Now he felt even less capable, since he couldn’t even buy her a pair of new shoes. Nevertheless, she still loved him very much. She knew that Aleks would give his life for them, and seeing him so concerned made her feel bad.

Don’t worry too much, my brother, she often told him. Everything will be all right. I love you, and I don’t need anything else. You are enough for me.

Smiling, Aleks kissed her on the forehead and hugged her, telling her that he loved her too. He truly loved her and their mother and little Giuliano.

The holidays went by without big presents or extreme expenses, but—as always—they were filled with love.

Maybe Christmas is a holiday for the poor, said Aleks. That’s why Jesus presented himself as a poor person.

He presented himself as very rich, corrected his mother, but rich with love. Remember, my son, no amount of wealth will give you pure and sincere love.

One day while he was working in the fields, Aleks again saw his best friend, Artan. Artan invited Aleks have a drink with him, and Aleks accompanied him with great pleasure. They were good friends who had stuck together when they went to school.

My friend, you won’t see me again for a couple of months, Artan told Aleks.

But why? asked Aleks.

I will leave again when the weather becomes a little better, answered Artan.

Lucky you! said Aleks, putting his head down.

Why lucky me? asked the friend.

There you can work and help your family, said Aleks.

Look, it’s not easy or beautiful, said Artan.

I’m in a bad situation, my friend, confessed Aleks. Nothing is too difficult for me to do if it will save my family.

Do you want to come with me? asked Artan. I would love to have a friend like you with me.

Are you asking for real? asked Aleks.

Of course. We are friends.

I can’t, said Aleks. I don’t have a penny for the trip.

Don’t worry, said Artan. My cousin is coming back soon, and he has worked long enough to earn plenty of money. He’s a good guy. He’ll lend us the money, and we can give it back to him once we find a job in Greece.

Aleks was extremely happy. He saw this as a big break in his life. Finally, he was going to be able to save his family from misery. Finally, he was going to be able to work and earn something. He suddenly hugged his friend. I will remember this for life, he said to Artan.

I’m not doing anything. The trip is exhausting, and it’s not really fun. Life over there is harder than here at home, said Artan.

To me, it means a lot, and I am very thankful. They shook hands. When are we leaving?

In two or three weeks, when there will be less snow in the mountains.

And so that late-January afternoon ended. Aleks went back to see Artan a little later to talk to him about how people lived in Greece. Aleks made him tell as much as possible so he could learn about the place that was about to become his country for a long time. When Aleks arrived home, everyone was waiting for him at the door.

Little Giuliano hugged him, and his little sister kissed his frozen cheek, almost as if she wanted to warm him. His mother wanted to know where he had gone, but he didn’t say anything, so she just waited for him to explain. She was proud of her son and very concerned about him. He was such a good boy, and she didn’t want anything bad to happen to him.

I saw Artan, Aleks said while eating hot soup and homemade bread.

How was he? asked his mother, investigating further.

He is doing well, answered Aleks. He’s leaving again in a few weeks.

But why now, in winter? asked his mother. The poor guy! It’s very cold.

Aleks didn’t say any more. He finished his food in silence and then sat down on the old sofa and made himself comfortable. His mother was doing other things in the kitchen when Aleks spoke again.

Mother, I’m leaving with him.

She turned toward her son with tears in her eyes. His words hit her like lightning. She had known that sooner or later her son would leave too. She had simply hoped that it would happen as late as possible, when he just a little older. But the moment that her son had wanted for so long had come. She couldn’t stop the tears. Linda cried as well. They knew they would miss him at home. They both were very concerned about him.

Two weeks passed by very quickly. The two friends had everything ready to leave. Aleks’s mother and Linda had promised not to cry at the moment of his departure, but they knew they were not going to be able to keep such a promise.

The two friends had filled their bags with heavy clothes for the trip and then left, almost in a hurry, after saying good-bye to their families. They had to undertake a long trip on the train, crossing Albania from north to south, to the border of Greece. The railroad was in bad condition, and the cars of the train were even worse. It was an exhausting trip, more than twenty-four hours of travel across three hundred and fifty kilometers in those coaches without windows. That had to be the most stressful part of the whole trip.

After many hours, they finally arrived, dead tired, at the city of Korca, which was located on the border. It was very cold. Everything around them was ice. The friends joined another small group of immigrants and followed them to a boardinghouse where these poor guys could stay.

Inside the boardinghouse, they ate a hot meal, and Aleks became curious as to why everyone was taking bigger portions of hot soup that didn’t really have any special flavor. Many of young men looked at Aleks and understood that it was his first time.

Eat! one of the guys told him. It’s your last hot meal for the next few days.

And how many days will this trip last? asked Aleks.

It all depends on your feet. The faster you walk, the sooner you arrive.

Everyone started laughing. Why were they laughing? What