Zbornik Mednarodnega literarnega srečanja Vilenica 2004 - Ljudmila

one else’s bicycle there, yet the bicycle looked practically the same as his.
I sneaked off to the cellar, but there was no sign of my father’, bike. In the
pram room there was only my tricycle. I pushed it out, got on and went to
have closer look at this confusing situation.
I peddled up to the heap, got off the tricycle and indeed - there was my
father’s bicycle up on top of the paving stones. He immediately rushed
up to me, took me in his arms and called out to the other men something
I did not properly understand, but they were all very nice to me, which I
enjoyed, and my father said I was his brave little boy.
Then however they put my tricycle on the heap of flagstones and I
began to cry. Mother, also in tears, hurried out, snatched me from my
father’s arms saying he was crazy, and took me home. After a while father
came home in high spirits. He calmed us down telling us not to be afraid.
From the dresser and the pantry he took out all the bottles of wine and
spirits telling mother they must have at least some kind of weapons and
these could serve as incendiaries and off he went.
Then he came back once more and from the wardrobe took out his
football strip with number seven on it which he wore every Sunday when
he played and which he never entrusted to any laundry so that mother
had to wash it. He had played for various clubs but he always insisted he
had number seven on his back and on his sleeve. He pulled on his jersey
and in front of the mirror he put the captain’s armband on his sleeve.
That was all father needed. He did not care if they were outnumbered and
what kind of weapons the other side had. He was on the side of virtue
and captain of the side. It was so awe-inspiring that this time mother did
not even try to stop him.
It was getting dark. The men sat at the barricade and although they
discovered that none of them knew how to make an incendiary bomb
they did not give up but now and then one of them would get up and at
least wave a large banner calling it our flag. Suddenly a rumbling noise
was heard and the tanks I was so keen to see rolled towards us from Poland;
I could not see them very well because the noise was so great that I
hid my face in my mother’s dress. Her dress smelled nice. And it smelled
exactly the same as usual’ and this comforted me. It did not even bother
me that mother was crying. 1 went on sniffing her dress as long as the
noise continued. The tanks stopped.
For a long time the tanks remained stationary close to the barricade.
They just stood there not moving. There was absolute silence. Only from
time to time, my father in his invincible number seven strip, would get
up, wave his banner at the tanks and quickly disappear again in order, as
he said, to keep up the team spirit by drinking from the nearest incendiary
bottle, because every time he showed himself and faced the guns of
the tanks unarmed, he had to muster up all his courage, because he was
afraid, because he was desperately afraid.
It was now dark. In the course of the day so much had happened. I was
sleepy. I do not remember much more. The men remained alone at the
barricade throughout the night. Eventually everyone, including their sup-
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