Syria 2.0 — Tomas Bachot

(1) One day, the police burst into our house. They searched for my wife and me, but they couldn’t find us because I’d turned into a hat stand and my wife had turned into a comfortable sofa, and we laughed a lot when they left the house disappointed.

(2) One day the sky was clear and blue, without a single cloud. We went to an orchard, when suddenly, after only a few minutes, the police stormed in with the intent of arresting us. But this was to no avail because I’d turned into a black raven which tirelessly croaked and my wife had turned into a tree with green branches. And we laughed a lot at their failure.

(3) One day my wife started to complain about her chores in the kitchen so we went to a restaurant. But, all of a sudden, just as we began to eat, the police surrounded the place. They stormed inside with their moody faces and began searching for us by methodically checking everything, but we’d vanished, since I’d turned into a knife and my wife had turned into a glass full of water, and we laughed a lot after they deflatedly left the restaurant.

(4) One day while we were strolling along a wide street, full of people and cars, window shopping, all of a sudden the police blocked the street and began to arrest hundreds of men and women. But they didn’t manage to arrest us because I’d turned into a wall and my wife had turned into a colourful billboard stuck to this wall, and so we laughed a lot at their stupidity.

(5) One day we went to the cemetery to visit my mother, but the police burst into the cemetery and arrested my mother, but they weren’t lucky enough to arrest us, because I’d turned into the words inscribed upon a tombstone in black ink and my wife had turned into a bouquet of withered roses, and we laughed a lot at their naivety and simple-mindedness.

(6) One day we set off hurriedly to the hospital, excited, because my wife was pregnant, in her ninth month, and it was time for her to give birth. And just as our newborn child’s lips were about to attach themselves to their mother’s breast which spurted milk, the police suddenly piled into the hospital. But they couldn’t find us because I’d turned into a dirty white lab coat and my wife had turned into a mirror on the wooden closet packed full of clothes, and our child turned into the siren on an ambulance. And we laughed a lot at their slow-mindedness, and we’ll keep on laughing.

Photo captions (in order of appereance):

Short story We’ll Laugh... We’ll Laugh a Lot by Zakariyya Tamir

Map data: Google, Instant Street View

More info about the project: Syria 2.0