And it came to pass that the great opposing forces of the universe did stage their endless battle. They that be full of power. They that be full of knowing. They that be the spirit. They that spread out over the Land.
I am thirsty, said the boy.
You are thirsty, said the man.
Yes.
Listen.
The boy listened.
Do you hear, said the man.
No.
What do you hear.
The insects.
What else do you hear.
The wind.
What else do you hear.
Nothing.
Do as I do.
The man pressed his ear to the branch. The boy did so.
The man shook the forked tree.
What do you hear, said the man.
The boy listened.
I hear it, said the boy.
The man cut the branch. The man held the branch over the boy. The boy drank.
The man walked quickly. The man had large feet. The man made deep grooves in the Land.
The boy followed. The boy stepped in the grooves. The boy jumped to land inside the grooves.
The fire in the sky was big. The man had protection from the fire. The man liked the flies on his face. The man liked the flies on his neck.
The boy waved his arm. The boy lost protection of the flies. The boy lost protection of the Land.
I am tired, said the boy.
You are tired.
Yes.
Look, said the man. Do you see the great bird. Do you see the Land.
The boy looked up.
There is only a rock.
Look closer. It is a bird. There. It has the hump of an emu. There. It has beak of a dromus. It is as old as the Land. As old as the Time.
The boy squinted. The boy could see only a rock.
You are not looking of the way, said the man. You are looking outside. You must look inside. Close your eye.
The boy did so.
What do you see.
Darkness.
What else do you see.
The boy rubbed his nose. Darkness.
No. What else.
The bird.
The boy opened his eyes.
The man walked to the cool bird. The boy ran to the cool bird.
I am hungry, said the boy.
You are hungry, said the man.
Yes.
Touch the Land. What does it tell you.
The boy touched the Land.
It is hot, said the boy.
Yes. What else.
Nothing.
The man walked. The man touched the Land. The man closed his eyes.
Here, said the man.
The boy touched the Land.
What do you feel, said the man.
Nothing.
Do you feel the Land move.
Yes.
The man punched the Land. The man held a lizard.
We thank the Land, said the man. We are of the Land.
The fire in the sky rested on the mountain.
I am sick, said the boy.
The man pulled at the fruit. The man pulled at the other fruit.
I am not hungry, said the boy.
I know. Do as I do.
The man licked at the outside of the fruit. The boy did so.
What do you taste.
Nothing.
The man licked at the outside of the other fruit. The boy did so.
What do you taste.
Nothing.
Do they taste not of the sameness?
No.
The man caught the falling boy. The man gave the boy of the other fruit.
What do you taste, said the man.
Sweet, said the boy.
Yes. Sweet.
The boy was better.
The holes in the sky were bright.
The man woke the boy.
What do you smell, said the man.
Smoke.
What else.
You.
Good. What else.
Nothing.
The man sat against the tree. The man waited with the spear.
The dingo bit the man. The man flung the spear at the dingo. The dingo landed at the feet of the boy. The body did not move.
You are safe, said the Land.
The great fire in the sky rose.
Stop, said the man. The two armies.
The two armies, said the boy.
Yes.
Where.
The man pointed to the plain.
The man pointed to the mountain.
Look closer, said the man.
I see only the dust, said the boy.
Listen.
I hear only the Land.
Breathe.
I smell only you.
Taste.
I taste only the air.
Do you feel them, said the man.
No, said the boy.
The man fought bravely.
The man screamed. Do you feel them.
No.
Until.
The boy saw the armies. The boy heard the cries. The boy smelt the past. The boy tasted the red. The boy felt the pain.
The boy was dead. The man was dead.
The man was alive.
© 2011 Ben Safta
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 Australia License
