Orguz was a beautiful child with a lean face, wavy black hair and striking, playful black eyes; the devil’s eyes, Vafa said. Mehmet, his little brother, was darker and heavier, with a brow that was forever set in a frown.
Bilko and Hormat’s daughter, Syeira, had thick, black hair and her skin was a subtle shadowy dark that was very attractive. She also had chubby cheeks and her grin was missing teeth.
During the off-season, if the weather was good, the three of them played down by the river, while either Aata or Hormat watched, did chores or talked.
They played detective, looking for clues along the river bank. Someone might spot a water snake weaving its way through the water. There were birds to chase.
Or they would catch frogs down by the metal bridge, put them in the socks and swing them around over their heads until the frogs peed in terror.
Toward the end of the day, Orguz would sit with his brother, Mehmet, on the river’s edge wearing once white brief underwear that were now filthy from the mud and stare across the water or up at the moon, dreaming.
(A long red Thunderbird passes over the metal bridge, a woman with blond hair sits in the passenger’s seat, her hair streaming in the wind. Orguz glances at Mehmet, and they both smile.)
When the weather was not so good, they had to play games inside the trailers or under an awning between the Ortrar and Dilmac trailers. Sometimes, they listened to records or put on shows for each other.
At night, Orguz would often sit by himself and watch Syeira play with her Barbie and a G.I. Joe. Orguz liked to listen to her whisper stories to herself while she manipulated the dolls.
Orguz loved his father, a quiet, friendly, religious man, but Bilko was his idol.
Bilko had muscles and he was strong. Orguz also thought Bilko was handsome and brave, and he liked the way he handled people with his smile, just like in the movies.
When he was alone, or sitting in the back row of the trailer Jubilee! used for a school house, Orguz would imagine that he and Bilko were flying through the stars in a space ship that looked something like a metal bottle rocket and used a wood burning stove as an engine.
He and Bilko would wear tan uniforms with wide lapels and button down pockets and the kind of caps that pilot’s wore. They would travel to other planets and fight the enemy.
Orguz imagined that, one day, he and Syeira would live on another planet, have a cat, and he would drive to work in a red ThunderBird.