Evening was at hand, the sun was slowly getting ready to
drown in the stormy sea and heavy dark blue clouds rushed
over the sky. Clouds were driven by strong winds to inland,
waste, desolate inland, wrinkled, rocky, tortured by
constant cold. The waves were loudly breaking against a
cliff on which two men stood, both wrapped in several layers
of warm, but as they were finding out every day, absolutely
insufficient clothes. They didn't remember how long it could
be since they had set out on a journey, they didn't remember
how far they had gone, they didn't remember neither where
they had been nor the reason they had left the place. The
only thought which they kept for all those past dark days,
days so resembling each other that they fused and overlapped
and formed permanent nightmare, the only thought was yearn
for the sea. They wanted to come to the sea and now they've
been here, standing on the cliff and foamed surf stormed
under their feet. They stood puzzled and quiet and tempest
lashed their faces with salty tears. And they would stand
there much, much longer if the smaller one wouldn't
interrupt the silence.
"What now?" He asked and turned towards his companion.
He didn't answer and kept looking at that unprecedented
amount of wallowing water. Then he slowly turned to inquirer
and piercingly looked at him.
"I have no idea," He shrugged. He frowned and added: "I
can't recall why the hell we wanted to get here."
"Well, so can't I, but I thought you've got some plans, coz
you kept waking me up every morning and chased me farther."
The taller one turned back to the sea.
"I guess I did have some plans," he murmured, "but I forgot
what it was."
"So make sure you'll remember quickly," said the smaller
one nervously.
"And what about a little assistance? After all we are here
together, therefore even you knew, in the beginning, why
we're going."
"I'd love to help you, but I can't make myself think about
anything else but how hungry I am. Haven't eaten since
yesterday... or the day before yesterday. I don't know,
anyway, I haven't eaten since the time we spent our
rations," complained the smaller one.
For a while they stood without a word. The sun was
descending lower and lower.
"You recall something?" Asked the taller one.
"No. It doesn't work. I'm hungry," said the smaller one.
"Hungry," sneered the taller one, "buddy, not to eat for
one day or two... I don't call that hunger."
"But I do. And when I'm hungry, I can't think. That's
biological reaction."
"To hell with such learned terms! Biological reaction!
You've got some willpower, haven't you? Get a hold of
yourself!"
"Mmhmm..."
Again they watched mutinous sea, and the sun kept
descending.
"Hungry," said the smaller one later and the taller one,
pulled out of his effort to recall what they wanted to do
here, turned to him abruptly.
"What?"
"Hungry, hungry, hungry..."
"Well, there's nothing I can do about it."
"You see, hungry, I'm not, hungry, damn, hungry, able to
think about, hungry, nothing else but, hungry, I'm hungry,
hungry. Biological reaction. Hungry. I'm just hungry."
The taller one shook his head.
"Buddy, you know nothing about hunger. I, I could tell you.
Once I was caught in a blizzard, I dug myself this small
hole, in order not to freeze, and that blizzard raged for
twenty days. Twenty damned days! And I had nothing to eat.
That was hunger. But this?"
"Do you have to talk about it, hungry?" Hiccupped the
smaller one.
"Yeah, maybe it'll help you to brace yourself. I was lying
in that hole, eating snow and in front of my eyes... danced
images of the most selected delicatessen. It was gettin'
worse by time, I would have eaten bark from trees, but there
were no trees around. I don't even remember how I survived.
I swear to god, if I wasn't there alone, you know, if
somebody was there with m, I would most likely become a
cannibal."
Eyes of the smaller one glowed for a second when he looked
at his companion. And he bared his teeth in a gruesome
parody of smile.
"Wow, I have never considered this, thanks!" He wanted to
say. But what came out of him was: "Hungry, hungry,
hungry."
He spread his arms.
The sun drowned.