A Few Hours After
written by: Bugra Sarpkaya
Boran was forced to visit his great-aunt with his family. She lived in a big house with a grand garden. It was big enough to question how many people lived there. His family received a warm welcome from his great-aunt, and everyone settled in the living room. While they were lost in daily chatter, he ran out to play games. Not without a warning, though, “Don’t go into any rooms, and you can only play outside,” his mum said. Although his great-aunt insisted that she didn’t mind a glimpse, his mum objected as always. Boran hated that. He enjoyed exploring the houses he entered, yet the rooms of his relatives were always shut. The only thing he could see was the well-constructed and carefully decorated living rooms. So he preferred to be outside and play a game he made up.
The garden was long, and it had an empty parking space. It seemed like no one had used it in a while. The overgrown grass started to cover it up.
At the end of this garden, there was an old tool shack. It was shaped like a small house a kid would draw. This shack always raised curiosity in Boran, but of course, it was off-limits. Even his great-aunt warned him about this shack, “It is too dangerous with nothing interesting inside.” However, every time he visited, he wanted to explore this shack. And on this day, his curiosity got the better of him.
The first thing he realised was the broken windows, but he didn’t pay attention to them. It was an old shack after all. Some cracks on the windows were expected. What he didn’t expect was the wired door and a big hole between the wires, which he used to get inside.
The shack was full of old tools. A rusted hammer and a dulled axe were hanging from the wall. A fancy, carved wooden table was in the middle of the room. Its beautiful design immediately caught attention. It seemed heavy and durable. Big enough to host a family for dinner. Beautiful shapes decorated the visible parts. But once he got closer, he understood why it was locked away in the shack. The table was heavily damaged with dents and scratches. The legs were unstable, and the top part was almost broken in two. It looked like there was an attempt to repair it, but it was never finished.
The inside of the shack was as old as its outside, but surprisingly clean. Boran expected cobwebs, spiders, and dust, but it was well taken care of. Every item was carefully placed, and each seemed worn out from heavy use. Millions of thoughts raced through his mind, “Whose were these?”, “What were they used for?”, “Would it be okay to touch them?” Instead of finding an answer, he got caught by his mum and received a lecture. This new exploration was cut short, and until much later, he didn’t find out why that table was locked away.
- A Few Hours After - May 23, 2026
