{"id":4437,"date":"2021-03-17T15:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-03-17T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/buber.net\/Basque\/?p=4437"},"modified":"2021-03-17T13:13:50","modified_gmt":"2021-03-17T13:13:50","slug":"bubers-basque-story-part-44","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buber.net\/Basque\/2021\/03\/17\/bubers-basque-story-part-44\/","title":{"rendered":"Buber’s Basque Story: Part 44"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

If you have comments or questions, or have simply been enjoying the story and want to say hello, please drop me a note!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next morning, earlier than any of them cared for, Edurne took Maite and Kepa to the airport. Before they left, Maite slipped a note under Amaia\u2019s pillow, saying goodbye and hoping to see her soon in the Basque Country. It was still dark out when Edurne pulled up to the airport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAre you sure I can\u2019t help you carry your bags in?\u201d she asked for the fifteenth time. \u201cI can park in the garage.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEz, ez, lasai!\u201d responded Maite. \u201cWe got it! We don\u2019t have that many bags.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOk,\u201d said Edurne, still unsure. She followed the sign pointing to departures and parked the car. As Kepa grabbed their bags out of the trunk, Edurne gave Maite a big bear hug.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Buber’s Basque Story is a weekly serial. While it is a work of fiction, it has elements from both my own experiences and stories I’ve heard from various people. The characters, while in some cases inspired by real people, aren’t directly modeled on anyone in particular. I expect there will be inconsistencies and factual errors. I don’t know where it is going, and I’ll probably forget where it’s been. Why am I doing this? To give me an excuse and a deadline for some creative writing and because I thought people might enjoy it. Gozatu!<\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was so good to see you!\u201d she said. \u201cWe can\u2019t let it be so long until the next time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAdos,\u201d replied Maite. \u201cYou have to come visit soon!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWell, if you go to Berkeley, you won\u2019t be there for me to visit,\u201d said Edurne with a smile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A look of doubt flashed in Maite\u2019s eyes. \u201cThat\u2019s still a big if,\u201d she finally said. \u201cThey may not accept me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Edurne let out a good natured laugh. \u201cThey would be fools not to. You\u2019ll be the best thing they\u2019ve seen in a while, I\u2019m sure.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She then turned to Kepa. \u201cYou take good care of her out there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kepa smiled. \u201cOh, I will. I\u2019ll make sure she doesn\u2019t get into any trouble, at least not until after her interview.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Edurne gave Kepa a squeeze. \u201cIt was good to meet you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBerdin,\u201d replied Kepa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Edurne gave Maite one last hug. \u201cHe\u2019s a keeper, you know,\u201d she whispered into her cousin\u2019s ear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maite smiled as she whispered back. \u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIkusi arte!\u201d called Edurne as she climbed back into her car and drove away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The flight to California was relatively uneventful. Maite claimed the window seat and put on her headphones, putting some final touches on the talk she was going to give as part of her interview. Kepa sat next to her in the middle seat. To his left, in the aisle seat, sat an older gentleman. Kepa had pulled out a book and had begun reading when the man interrupted him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhere are you from?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Basque Country,\u201d replied Kepa. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhere?\u201d asked the man.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Basque Country,\u201d repeated Kepa. \u201cIn Spain. Why do you ask?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI just noticed that your book wasn\u2019t in English, so I was curious. So, you are Basque?\u201d he said excitedly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kepa nodded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve heard about you guys! Aren\u2019t you the long-lost descendants of Atlantis?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kepa sighed as he tried to explain the history of the Basques and the Basque Country, but every time he debunked one theory, the man brought up another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat about Adam and Eve? Isn\u2019t Basque the language that was spoken in the Garden of Eden?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAren\u2019t you all really aliens?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat about being Neandertals? That one has to be true, doesn\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the end of the flight, Kepa was wishing he had pretended not to understand English at all.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you have comments or questions, or have simply been enjoying the story and want to say hello, please drop me a note! The next morning, earlier than any of them cared for, Edurne took Maite and Kepa to the airport. Before they left, Maite slipped a note under Amaia\u2019s pillow, saying goodbye and hoping […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2549,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[864],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4437","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bubers-basque-story"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/buber.net\/Basque\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Artboard-1.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2sYNu-19z","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buber.net\/Basque\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4437","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buber.net\/Basque\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buber.net\/Basque\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buber.net\/Basque\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buber.net\/Basque\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4437"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/buber.net\/Basque\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4437\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4438,"href":"https:\/\/buber.net\/Basque\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4437\/revisions\/4438"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buber.net\/Basque\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2549"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buber.net\/Basque\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4437"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buber.net\/Basque\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4437"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buber.net\/Basque\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4437"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}