Sky Blue
1st Century BCE, Laodicea – Denizli
The arena in Laodicea reeks of blood. Benthor battles raging bulls before the eyes of his forbidden love, Tselia, who watches from the crowd. He is strong enough to take down a few, but the man seated on the lion-emblazoned throne has no intention of letting him live. Each time Benthor gains an advantage, the ruler signals for more bulls to be released into the arena.
Weakened by wounds from his last fight, Benthor collapses onto his knees. He no longer has the strength to stand. The ruler raises his hand, signaling for the release of Trondar, the arena’s most feared bull, to deliver the final blow.
As the crowd erupts in excitement, Trondar charges toward Benthor.
Benthor, gravely injured, collapses before Trondar even reaches him. Yet, the beast still drives its horns into his lifeless body, lifting him high into the air before tossing him aside. The people cheer, praising the king and Trondar in triumphant celebration.
Filled with hatred for her father and the people celebrating Benthor’s death, Tselia begins to cry. As her sobs grow louder, each of her tears takes flight. They turn into sky-blue birds, the color of her eyes, and descend onto the sandy floor of the arena. Turning the sand into water, the water into raging waves, and the waves into a great flood.
The city is devastated. Laodicea drowns. Life ceases to exist.
As the waters settle, raindrops begin to fall. The tiny ripples formed by their impact on the water take flight, transforming into sky-blue birds and soaring into the air.
Tselia’s tears rise into the sky, soaring toward distant lands, searching for another wickedness to wash away.
2009 CE, Acıgöl – Denizli
As the photographer busily draws water from the nearby well to fill the trough, he hears the sound of jingling bells. Looking toward the source, he sees a shepherd guiding his flock toward the trough. Though it's still early in the day, the heat of the Denizli countryside is already making its presence known. Feeling the toll of his effort—the energy and water lost to the labor—he walks over to his car, grabs a chocolate wafer and a bottle of water, and perches on the hood, watching the approaching flock.
The time it takes for the sheep to reach the trough, drink their fill, and then explaining to the shepherd why he’s filling it in the first place—it all exhausts him as much as if he had been Benthor battling bulls in the arena.
Once the flock has moved on, he musters the strength to pull up only five or six more buckets of water. Retreating to his car, he adjusts his camera settings, hoping that birds from the forest across the road will soon come to drink, offering him a perfect shot.
After a long wait, suddenly, a single tear falls from the sky, landing at the edge of the trough.
Tselia’s tear transforms into a sky-blue bird.
The great waves of excitement in the photographer’s heart turn into a flood of joy. The unfinished story of Tselia and Benthor comes to life once more in the frames of a sky-blue bird.
