Of three workers and a desert (6)
March 23rd, 2017
– Right not left, right not left…
– Shhh, you‘re going to wake up Zigmund, and we can‘t be sure he‘s come to senses yet.
– It‘s ok, he‘s not here.
– ?
– I saw him crawl inot the desert some hours ago.
– Didn‘t you sleep.
– Nope, Whisky lacked in magic this night.
– Should we go and look for him, just in case?
– Don‘t think it‘s the best idea, besides, if you were right, he is in his proper place and, by extension, so are his actions.
– Yes, I say a lot sometimes, even if I do not know what it means, but I‘ll trust your lead on that, Joseph.
– Was it true, that we came from the hole? Why did we not know that and you did? Why didn‘t you tell us?
– I thought you‘d have picked on that by now. The fact, I mean, not my silence. I guess I did not want, yeah, things like last evening happening.
– But it did happen before you told us – Zigmund was going bonkers before I had returned.
– Miscalculation on my part.
– You‘re lying, Woyzeck. I‘m sorry to say that, but you are not telling what‘s on your mind.
– Son.
– Be real with me, Woyzeck, this time.
Woyzeck sighs.
– I was afraid of you leaving me. You know, jumping into the hole, getting back to where you came from, all that crap, godforgiving.
– You don‘t believe in god, do you?
– I don‘t, but in case he believes in me, I don‘t want to take chances.
– Hypocrite.
– More like an argument for the existence of god from a point of unbeliever.
– And how does that work?
– If he…it believes in me, even when I don‘t – in it, then it follows that his – damn – its belief is pure and self-sufficient.
– So?
– Its belief through a non-believer proves that its existence is perfect and, thus, necessary.
– Are you saying, that if god was upset with non-believers, it would not exists?
– Precisely.
– Haha, oh, you – to quote Zigmund – wise old man! You got yourself in good position, hedging all those bets.
– Don‘t blame the messenger, I still don‘t believe, godbelieving.
Suddenly the workers hear a sharp booming sound.
– Zigmund! Zigmund!
– Don‘t waste your breath, Joseph, he won‘t answer. And he is alive, for better or worse.
– How would you know?
– Trust me on this. He must have crawled to atone for his outburst, got sentimental and shot for the sky. Haha. Indeed, he said my head was not worth the bullet, no way his was!
Both men laugh with uneasy relief.
– Woyzeck?
– Yes, son?
– I thought this magicless silent night about what Zigmund said before I had left.
– About what?
– The hole and everything. I think I‘m goint to jump.
– That‘s what I was afraid of all this time. Should have kept my mouth shut.
– It wasn‘t you, it wasn‘t the fact that we are from the hole. No.
– Then why? What‘s the deal?
– I guess – how to put it soundly – I want to be the blacksmith of my destiny.
– But you are, being here, talking to those, who come, telling us – keeping company.
– Yes and no. I do not really understand, what they say. I just make a calculated guess, reading their faces, expressions.
– You don‘t say. So the wolf did not warn us about the impeding floods?
– Haha, no, I was just lightening up the mood. Yeah, that‘s all I was doing. Setting the tone right, or as good as it can be in this dire place of ours.
– Home.
– ?
– This is our home, Joseph.
– Be it as it may, then, Woyzeck, I have to leave it. No, I want to leave it. This…
Jozef draws an air circle.
– This makes me want to go. Do you understand?
– No. I mean, yes, but no. It just doesn‘twork like that. If you go, nobody will be able to take your place here. We will wither without you.
– Somebody will come.
– Argh, don‘t feed me – godforgiving – this bullshit. If you want to go, – go. In any case, I don‘t have my piece to make you stay. And if I would, your mind is made up, and that can‘t be overruled. I should know, being old and wise. Yes, my wishes count as those of a deadman.
– Don‘t say that.
– Shut up, son. Let it be silent, if it can‘t be peaceful, for a second. These days go so fast now…give me some of that.
– Papi?
– Son.
– Did you hear it?
– What?!
– I thought I heard Ziggy whisper bastard.
– You wouln‘d hear it as a whisper, now, would you? It‘s be like a decaying echo or something. It‘s a desert, and we still can‘t see him.
– You‘re probably right.
– One more, son?
– Papi.
For a time being two workers sit drinking on a pole. There‘s a hole and a pile of garbage. The field of visibility is narrow due to the day being short, and the sand being furious, which also is the reason for the lack of trails leading into the desert.
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