Meditation: The Children - The Future

About the Book

Vartouhy waited for him to go on speaking. The connotation of his words relayed a message similar to his impassioned  announcement more than five years ago of his decision to go off to Spain. Tonight, Vartouhy immediately recognized there was something urgent in his mind; something he wanted to do, perhaps for the good; but something which would affect their marriage.

When he did not continue to speak, Vartouhy was certain that, once again, she was going to have to make a major decision. Could she face the fact that Akop would want his freedom to find his niche alone in the east? Should she accompany him and visit her family while he explored the possibilities of finding work there? She even went so far as to entertain the thoughts of permanently leaving California, and forget her profession. She wanted to be wherever Akop found employment.

That night, laying in Akop´s arms, she opened the subject. "Akop, we have commitments to one another and especially to our son. We must remain a family, under any circumstance. Do you agree, darling?"

Vartouhy was taken aback when he did not immediately respond to her rhetorical question. Instead, Akop looked away from her into the darkened living room, and placed his hands behind his head. He slowly and methodically answered.

"Rosie, I don´t want to deliberately leave you and Haig, if that´s what you´re inferring. But, I must have the freedom to conduct my life as my ideals dictate. I´ve been in contact with two Armenian editors who are expanding the circulation of a daily Armenian newspaper to include an English section for their readers. They heard about me through Alex Pennian. Rosie, New York offers me a challenge to learn the newspaper business, stay true to my principles, and serve the working classes. I can´t pass this opportunity by for geographic reasons. I won´t waste my time with a meaningless, nine-to-five job where a boss is always on my back. It´s against my spirit.

"Rosie, I prefer to go to New York alone. I don´t want to disrupt your life. To put it bluntly, I don´t want to be pressured by guidelines which are dictated by an exploitive establishment. I simply can´t and won´t conform!"

Vartouhy´s heart sank. For the first time in their marriage, she turned her back to her husband in their bed. She drew the blanket closer to her body and quietly said, "Good night, Akop. I have nothing more to say to you now."

He did not answer. He dressed, walked to where Haig slept behind the folding screen, kissed him, and left the apartment.

Akop spent the night walking through the empty streets and avenues of Santa Monica, thinking how unhappy and dissatisfied he was with his life. When only a kid, how old was he, sixteen, seventeen? --  he had taken on a man´s job! How could he forget the violence and depravation in the New Mexico farms, the stench in the rural jails, the brutality of ignorant peasants with a few extra dollars which they believed bought the privilege of owning other human beings?

He relived the horrors of the Spanish Civil War. He remembered Harold´s last days and how content this comrade had been with the destiny he had chosen. The bravery of the Spanish people, the beauty of their children, hidden behind the mask of a war they didn´t understand, wrenched his soul. What was there left for him but to continue his quest for justice for the down-trodden and oppressed? He felt compelled to go on with his life. He thought to himself, "Let´s face it. Her income provides you with your creature comforts, the concerts in the symphony halls, the museums, all of the finer things you enjoy with her. All this can´t erase the fact that the government is after you. It wants you to think you are a loser! Rosie is better off without you. Hit the road! Keep a stiff upper lip, and don´t let Rosie know leaving her will hurt you more than it will hu

About the Author

Ms. Bohjelian, a first-generation Armenian-American, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Both her mother and father migrated to the United States from Turkey in the early 1900s and miraculously escaped the first Genocide of the Twentieth Century when, in 1915, the Turkish government annihilated over two million Armenians living in the Ottoman Empire. Elizabeth was fortunate to be nurtured by loving, intellectual parents. She listened to the stories of the Genocide from relatives and family friends. Her childhood and adult life were greatly influenced by these outpourings as well as the political and social discussions that prevailed in her home. Thus, two novels materialized. Elizabeth lives in New Jersey. She has two sons, a daughter, and four grandchildren.