Qagħqa tal-Appostli

Qagħqa tal-Appostli
nhar Ħamis ix-Xirka

Kitba ta’ Elizabeth Ebejer
Ritratt ta’ RITWALI

…kienet drawwa sa minn meta kont żgħira li nhar Ħamis ix-Xirka, mat-tmienja ta’ filgħaxija noħorġu mid-dar biex induru s-seba’ sepulkri fil-knejjes għas-seba’ visti… kien bil-magħmul li kull sena kien jinqala’ xi ħaġa, li perċimes ta’ kollox kont inkun jien u missieri kien jgħid…

… “Żgur! Is-sena d-dieħla ma morrux!” u hu donnu kien jinsa u s-sena ta’ wara konna mmorru u f’dawk iż-żminijiet sagrifiċċju kien sagrifiċċju u sawm kien ta’ vera. Konna morna l-Belt Valletta dik is-sena u ommi kienet wissietni biex ma nivvinta xejn, jekk jista’ jkun lanqas ninstema’ nieħu nifs. Meta konna għamilna nofs il-visti u kollox kien għaddej ħarir, missieri fettillu jixtri qagħqa tal-Appostli u lil min ta…??? Lili, biex inżommha!

…Meta ma kinux qed iħarsu l-ewwel kilt lewża, u wara oħra, sakemm ma kienx għad fadal lewż… Addio li kont bis-sawma u li qed nonqos, wara dort għall-ġunġlien. Kont medhija nnaqqar u kienu niżlin għasel tant li lanqas kien fadal xejn. Sewwa jgħidu li l-ħażin hu kollu tajjeb… u wara biċċa ħobż u wara biċċa oħra u fil-borża tal-karti ma kien fadal xejn ħlief il-frak. Lanqas kont indunajt li kiltha kollha u bqajt ma għidtx kelma. Hekk kif wasalna d-dar tlajt ’il fuq niġri għax kont naf li se tinqala’ waħda…

…Missieri għamel il-kitla għat-te… u beda jfittex il-qagħqa tal-Appostli, imma dik kienet ilha f’żaqqi u ma kinitx qagħqa tal-Appostli għax intilfet id-devozzjoni kollha…

Din l-istorja dehret ukoll fuq il-paġna ta’ Facebook ta’ Għidli Mitejn.

Apostle’s Ring Bread
on Maundy Thursday

Penned by Elizabeth Ebejer (trans. by RITWALI)
Photo by RITWALI

…as family tradition would have it, from a young age on Maundy Thursday, by 8 in the evening, I’d be out the door with my family, ready to start the pilgrimage around the seven sepulchres in the churches for the Seven Visits… every year, without fail, something – probably (if not certainly) my fault – would happen, and my dad would always say,

“Next year, we’re definitely not going!” …but he always seemed to then forget that he said that, and the following year we’d go again. In those days, a sacrifice was a real sacrifice and the abstinence was no joke. That year, we went to Valletta, and my mother had already warned me not to get too inspired (!) and start anything, to stay put and, if necessary, not even be heard breathing. Once we’d got halfway through the Visits, and everything was going smoothly, my dad went ahead and bought an Apostle’s Ring Bread…and who did he give it to??? Me, to hold it!

…It started with one piece of almond, the second that they looked away, and then another, until there were no almonds left… Goodbye, abstinence, and hello sin, especially as I turned to the sesame seeds. I was caught up eating away, they were so yummy, soon there weren’t any left. They say, evil tastes good…piece by piece, the bread too was devoured, and soon nothing was left in the paperbag besides a little bit of crumbs. Until I actually finished it, I hadn’t realised that I’d eaten all the bread. I didn’t say a word. I sprinted up the stairs as soon as we got home, because I knew, I just knew, that it was only a matter of time…

My dad set the kettle to make some tea and started looking for the Apostle’s Ring Bread…but that was long gone…and with it, all devotion!

This story has also appeared on the Għidli Mitejn Facebook page.