In that late afternoon Dan left with a
bag in his hands to look for his friend. He had one thousand thoughts in his
head. “Less has survived the war. Less is alive. Is it possible that he has
forgotten me? What if…!” Dan walked through the village, with an unusual pace,
not noticing the burned down and ruined houses, nor the walls with their
threatening graffiti in the Cyrillic alphabet, nor the noise of the children
who had just returned to what was their home after three month in the war
camps.
By the stream on the other side of the village graveyard he stopped.
On the far bank there was a red tape that waved in the wind. They had told him
this was where they had seen Less.
There he was, on the other
side of the stream. He was coming shyly toward Dan. “There he is!” shouted Dan,
excitement in his voice, and he opened the bag to take out the food.
Emotionally Dan walked toward his tape. As Dan got closer to him Less stopped
only ten or twenty yards away, behind the red tape. As Dan got closer to him Less
moved further back as if he were telling him, ”No. I do not know you. I have
started a new life. I find it better among the beasts. I do not want any more
of torture. I do not tree, and shot five times … Only one bullet hit me, here
in my leg, here … see, my left leg. And they killed Sam’s Jackie in front of
her door. We have done nothing. And never ever again will I trust men.”
The master leaned on a tree and felt the could
sweat rolling down his forehead, striving to think of a way to get his Less back. He stood up slowly, made another step towards
Less, looking at him very carefully, but he realized that the good animal was
not going to obey. He continued to walk toward Less with care, but Less bared
his teeth, leapt up and ran towards the minefield, barking in fury, ”No!” Dan
called when he heard the explosion … “he killed himself, they killed him, I
killed him!”
Looking at the torn and bloody body of his friend he thought he saw
the men in uniform telling him cynically, “We kill even when we are not there!”
Sabit Abdyli
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