As a little girl, I loved bedtime stories. All the fantasies and lessons I get to learn by the end of every story. Clearly, I enjoyed sleepover stories my aunt narrated for us. On the other hand, there was this one story that got stuck in my head for so long. It was about how my grandfather. He embarked a unique journey. It was from our hometown in the western mountain of Libya to the land of opportunities, Tripoli.
Where he started off his business from scratch and became one of Tripoli’s great businessmen. Nonetheless, It took me over 18 years to finally hear the detailed story from my grandfather himself. My grandfather, Al-Hadi Elosta, decided to come to Tripoli in 1954. He was a 14-year-old boy from a little town in the western mountain called Al-Qalaa. (It means castle in English) which Tamazight is its native language.
How the journey started
It is about 120km away from Tripoli. One day, my grandfather was staying with one of his relatives at his grocery store downtown. Suddenly, he told his relative who was called Uncle Nakou that he is going to Tripoli. The old man responded to my grandfather’s wish with a mere rejection. An additional surprise towards his decision but my grandfather insisted and he stood up and simply left.
First, he took the first road which is called Abu-Shusha and he kept walking down this road. He reached a place where farmers harvest crops. Obviously, no one was there. Moreover, my grandfather got a little scared because he was alone in that area. After a while, an old woman showed up. She was walking near him so he felt safe again until he reached the main road.
What happened through his journey to the land of opportunities
It should be noted that it was before noon. There were no cars on the main road when he arrived. He waited for his older brother, Mohamed. Finally, he found the car that was going to Tripoli. He knew the car because his brother used to work in Tripoli so he goes back and forth every few weeks.
He knew that his brother will pass by and find him. Throughout the journey, he got thirsty and decided to walk to the nearest well around. He drank water from the well and got back to where he was supposed to wait. He sat under a tree out of exhaustion. And without even realizing, he fell asleep and woke up the next morning. Surprisingly, he realized that he missed out the car that was supposed to take him to his next stop.
What do you think happened next? Did he catch up on his brother or he got lost? Did he make it to Tripoli or went back to Al-Qalaa? Don’t hesitate and share your thoughts. Stay tuned for part II of the story. Thank you for reading.