Author: Bahar Aslaner (11 years old)
Translator: Meldanur Bilir (17 years old)
Illustrator: Hatice Beraat Yıldız (10 years old)
Hi I’m ilsu doğa. I’m fourteen years old. I live in a small town in the Orhangazi district of Bursa with my family.
Since last Tuesday, there have been news reports on television about people demanding sleeplessness. They claim that if we don’t sleep, we would perform our tasks better and there would be no time wasted. If we don’t sleep, our brains cannot recover, our eyes shrink to needle points, and after a while, we would make involuntary movements. What they want is truly absurd.
Today, there was a good but bad news for us who don’t want sleeplessness:
“Dear viewers, you will listen to the sleep pill that will be written in history today...”
Let me give it to you:
“Developed by scientists, this pill will ensure you never sleep again. presenting, Xrekohap!”
I was quite surprised. Just a bit… Alright. You caught me. My mouth was wide open, as if it were Mount Everest. It’s not that exaggerated. Hopefully. My mother, father, and little sister Izgi were with me. Although they didn’t have their mouths open as much as I did, they were also surprised. As evening approached, I felt a sense of dread. What if my mom added a fear pill to my dinner? No. Not really... The fear pill hasn’t come out yet. But maybe it will soon. The demands of the public never end.
I went to bed. I wish I could say I slept beautifully. One neighbor was making noise with pots and pans, another was watching videos at full volume on an ungreased creaky chair, another was playing games loudly, and another was making a mess of the house...
Weeks went by. I was about to faint from sleeplessness. But I wasn’t alone in this. The ones who took the pill were like this too. I woke up in the morning. My mother had already prepared breakfast despite the sleeplessness. Normally very strong, even though I was exhausted, I managed to eat. I went to the living room and turned on the news, but İzgi wouldn’t allow it. He put on a cartoon. As soon as he did, there was a gunshot sound. There were repeated gunshots. My mother screamed:
-İzgi, İlsu, lie down immediately!
The three of us lay down on the floor. We didn’t notice the smoke and fog coming through the window. When I looked out the window to understand what was happening, I realized I couldn’t see anything.
-Mom, what’s happening?
I realized my mother wasn’t next to me.
-Mom!
I heard my father’s voice from the stairs:
-İlsuuu!
-Dad! Where are you!
Although I wanted to cry inside, I only shed a few tears on the carpet.
-Dear, come here.
My father grabbed my hand and started running.
-Dad, what’s happening?
In front of us, my parents appeared. We were moving from street to street. We couldn’t see in front of us because of the fog. Suddenly, a man with eyes as small as pinholes and wearing black crescent-shaped clothes appeared in front of me.
-AAAAAA!!!
My parents were lost in the fog, and the man approached me saying:
-Please help! I need to sleep...
Inside, I was thinking, “Mom, Dad, where did you go?” For a moment, I wondered, “Am I dreaming?” No, İlsu If this were a dream, 60% of it would be real. This is definitely not a dream...
-AAAH!
Dad suddenly appeared on my right, grabbed my arm, and pulled me. We entered another street and went inside through an open window below the house. My mom gently put Izgidown on the floor. Since it was dark inside, I had to move carefully to turn on the light without bumping into anything. Fortunately, I found the outlet and turned on the light. When the room was illuminated, I saw that the walls were covered in cobwebs, the cockroaches I had crushed while walking, and the scattered medicine bottles.
A helicopter’s shadow passed over us. It had landed in the crowd, judging by the sounds.
-Please stay calm. The antidote for Xrekohap is available. You are among those in Turkey who haven’t received it. Take it and use it!
So, an antidote had been made, but it had not been delivered to us. It seems that people have understood the importance of sleep. In other words, people follow the path of what they believe and desire...