When the Crow Flew Away

Enamel on MDF

The Atelier door was knocked three times, which was telling Fatma Teyze (aunt) came; not because of the number of knocking but the way of her style. She was my 84 years old, next door neighbour. When I was opening the door, with my crow friend 'Bluish'; it was on my shoulder. With a large smile on my face and teasing her, I said: " Fatma Teyze, good morning, you do not ring the bell again”. She was sharp as usual: “ Don’t talk too much!” while smiling… “ I brought this for you”. I looked at her hand and saw a covered deep dish. When she took off the cover, a glass of steaming milk appeared. "This morning is quite cool. This will make you warm”. Fatma Teyze had a similar color of eyes with Bluish...

She said, “ You will make her fly, right!”. I said “Yes”. The first expression on the internet about crows was “This is a wild animal!”. She was not familiar with the internet but well aware of the natural rules.

Every Wednesday is the day for Bazaar in Edremit (Balıkesir/Turkey). You may think that the whole city becomes a bazaar. On one of these days while I was wandering through; an instinct had driven me to the left where poultry sellers sited. Within tens of chickens and hatch, I saw a bold head with black feathers on its body. It was a young crow. I got closer and asked: “Is this for sale?” An old man said, "if you make it fly take it as a gift". I took it and ran to the atelier. I named it “Bluish” due to its eyes’ color. I already had an unused dropper for painting at the atelier. I gave some water to her (later I have learned that this may be dangerous, though, I did not face any trouble, perhaps because of Bluish was grown enough) and immediately found some worms to feed her than flung out to get some food (egg, fruit etc.) while leaving her in the kitchen.

When I came back, I found her as if she was waiting for me. While holding her in my one hand, I gave her water again with a dropper and food. When I returned home I made a quick summary to my wife and asked "what do you think about how I am able to communicate with Bluish ? ", on which neither myself nor Bluish had an idea. Since my wife Müberra had a cat; she was much better than myself to communicate with animals. She said, “Observe her ! ”. This became quite a valuable advice to make progress. By coincidence, the same night there was a documentary film on vultures. The baby vultures were pecking their mothers’ claws when they were hungry. The day after I had observed similar actions of Bluish. She was pecking my foot fingers as if I was her father. After eating some food she was rubbing her beak into my hands. I realised that this means the end of eating.
The same day I had built a home for her. When I put her over my shoulder she liked to be at there and we have started walking around together. Instead of my foot finger, she was pecking my ear when she needed something. We had had past a week together.

On the eighth day, I was sitting in my small hammock at the back yard and she was at her nest. She came to the edge of the nest and after a couple of reluctant forward movements, she tried to fly over to me. I caught her and put her to the nest again. She tried again and again with better results. With a wrong perception, I was thinking that birds fly by nature. With Bluish, I have figured out that they learn it.

On the ninth day, she flew higher. On the tenth, when the time was to be on the brink of sunset; she flew higher to the fence at the top. She was staying there like she was to make a decision. I said, “ Are you leaving?” She looked at me like bidding a farewell and went to the tree at a neighbours' garden and started crowing. Then suddenly two adult crows appeared. The evening had almost come. Sky was becoming grey and within the depths of emptiness I saw three crows flying together; two adult in front and Bluish in the back with a clumsy style. I watched them until they got lost from sight and Bluish had gone...

I sat down on the ground in mixed feelings and I leant my back against the wall while there was violin music in the background...

Then, I went up to the studio and grabbed an MDF plate; picked up some oil boxes; and started dripping as it came. When it was finished, I stopped. The day after when I looked at the painting, by being aware of that there is not such thing in abstract; it came to me that I saw a baby crow at the middle bottom, a man in a hammock at the right bottom corner and a profile of a man with eyeglasses to the right and silent melodies of violin. I could not see Fatma Teyze in the painting but I will always keep her in my memory.

Whenever a crow flies over myself by crowing; makes me think that the possibility of her being Bluish and reminds me Fatma Teyze not knocking my door anymore. Fatma Teyze and Bluish not only have the similar color of eyes but are both pureharted as well…