THE MAGIC LAVASH
Once upon a time, a long time ago...
There was a mother and a son, named Naghash.
Naghash grew up without a father...
A war had passed through their land, and taken his father with it...
No one saw him after that day.
Naghash's mother wandered from house to house, baking bread...
And people paid her with the same bread.
Every time, wearily returning home, the mother would hug little Naghash...
and sing a wistful song about her grievous former days.
Every day, the mother went from house to house, baking lavash...
and her son ate lavash and grew older.
The days passed. Months became years.
One time, during dinner, Naghash asked:
"Mother, why do you eat bread without anything?"
The mother sighed and said,
"Son, I wrap my pain and sorrow in the lavash and swallow them."
Truly, in the Armenian Highlands, boys become adults quickly...
and forget their childish games.
One day,
Naghash gazed at those fields sprawled around the village,
that looked like patches...
He saw that the mountainous country
allocated a lavash-sized plot to every house.
Once...
Naghash looked at his mother's work for a very long time
and said that he wanted to help.
"Son, it's not your job to bake bread..."
"If you want to be happy and earn your bread..."
"find the job your heart desires."
said his mother.
His mother's words worried Naghash, and made him think deeply...
and he decided to rove around the world, and find the job he desired.
At dawn, Naghash took the road...
taking with him in his saddlebag one baked lavash
and the silent blessing of his mother...
Whether he went far or not, only Naghash himself knew.
Near a cold wellspring, he met a happy shepherd.
The shepherd greeted Naghash kindly and asked,
"Have you a long road ahead of you?"
Quenching his thirst, Naghash answered: "Until I find my fate."
"Until you find your fate?", wondered the shepherd.
"Your fate is here; mine is beyond the mountains. Good luck!"
"Hey, your fate is in your own hands", yelled the shepherd after Naghash.
At dusk, Naghash got tired
and leaned against a stone to catch his breath...
He took the lavash from the saddlebag, and suddenly, what a miracle!
A robber appeared in front of Naghash: "Have you stolen my lavash, you thief?"
"Give it back, now!"
"My mother baked the lavash", yelled Naghash.
The robber went back horrified, whispering: "It's magic, my Lord, magic lavash".
And the robber begged: "Take whatever you want for this lavash".
"I don't need your stolen gems. The lavash will become common bread in your hands."
"Take and eat if you're hungry", said Naghash.
Naghash wandered for a long time,
and strange roads brought him to a foreign country...
where an old man met Naghash...
"Who are you?" "I am Naghash."
"Have you a long road ahead of you?", asked the old man.
"Until I find my fate, old man."
"I also went to find my fate, but I lost my way."
"In the end, I lost my vision."
Naghash felt sad: "Can I help you, old man?"
"Don't go my way, son!"
"My mother baked this lavash - it was magical."
"No matter how much I'd eat, it never lessened..."
"But half was suddenly lost on the road. Here, this half is for you, old man!"
"Your lavash is still powerful, my son..."
"May your mother's hands remain blessed, as she brought back my vision..."
And the old man added:
"And the lavash diminished, my son, because you didn't earn it yourself."
Naghash slept, tired and uncertain...
In his dream, he heard the old man's words from very far away:
"Your lavash will become magical again when you irrigate it with your own sweat!"
Naghash woke up, and went towards his own village...
He entered home calmly...
Climbed silently to the opposite hill...
He cleaned the stones from a lavash-sized plot of land...
Sowed his field...
Irrigated it with his own sweat...
And the land gave him its harvest...
And Naghash remembered the lavash of his childhood...
and the magical words of the old man:
"Remember, son, your happiness lies only in your work..."
"and your fate lies only in your fatherland!"
Screenplay: A. Sahradyan, Stepan Andranikyan
Director: Stepan Andranikyan, Nelly Atajanyan
The End (subs by Liya and Seda from AUA, Irina Apyan's students, parizani & Niffiwan)