Fiction: Group 3
"The little one."
"Sure, the one with the boulders up on top."
"Well, the high-ups are telling us to dig out cesspits there. Save on having to clear out a space ourselves."
"Sounds fine to me."
"Team 17 is heading out there with a couple drills and a digger tomorrow."
"I'll go with them."
"Good lad."
***
He had nicked his thumb on the machete earlier, but none of it mattered now. Work was over! The rice
was at last lying in massive heaps in the center of the village waiting to be threshed by the grandmas, while
the tattered ball of stitched leather was sailing high over the adults' heads.
"Come on! Sun's setting in a couple hours!"
"Lemme get my boots!"
"You have boots? Lucky!"
And down the trail he sped, kicking the ball over ruts, jumping stumps, enjoying the journey as much as the
dream of their destination. Rounding the corner though, his best friend leaped out from behind and stole
the ball, speeding up and charging full tilt down the final straight - the field was in sight!
He watched his friend in admiration as he bounced the ball fluidly past obstacle after obstacle. He knew his
friend was probably the best player in the village, maybe even the province! He yelled in triumph as he
broke out into the clearing -
The worst part isn't the screams.
It's when the screams die out.
He stopped short. In that silent moment, every minute detail, every tiny distraction from what had just
happened leapt out at him, like a blizzard of blood-red lights. Jumping into his vision incessantly,
desperately.
Then the screams burst out with renewed frenzy, different screams, the screams of the witnesses.
The cacophony shot out over the canopy in streaks of hot red, swirling like tears across the darkening sky.
The waves of sound bled into every nook, every cranny, filling up the newly dug pit like a flash flood.
And there, at the bottom, blood, fear, and sound mixed in the air near the ground like smoke, into a heady
concoction of horror and guilt.
***
When you silence
My soul
Lay me in my home
In canopy,
In stone
Once again alone.
See my blessings
Ring true
Feel the wind
I blew.
You fool -
I forgive you.
