On
the bank sat two men, cooking their fish they had fished with the
campfire. One man was around fifty. Another one was young. The river
was shining with sunshine. And it was wide and calm with the
background that was huge mountains. Also alongside the river was a
long line of fresh lively trees. The birds sang sometimes, while the
men talked. "So
you've stayed here for months?" the young man asked. "Yes,"
the old man replied. "Alone?" "Alone." The
young man took off his hat for he was in a shade of trees. "I like
this place," the young man said, "It's like a little piece of
paradise." "Yeah,
it is like it sometimes." "It
has many big fish, too," the young man said with satisfaction. "I
want to build a house around here, like yours." "Mine
is called a shack." "Yeah,
a shack." "You
got some beers, Chico?" "Yeah,
sure I got some." The young man opened the plastic box that
contained ices and some cans of beer. Wind breezed, and all the young
plants around waved, as well as the flame. "Nice cold beers." He
grabbed two cans of beer and handed one of them to the old man. The
campfire was growing too high and too hot. The old man took out some
burning sticks. Then he said to the young man, "You see that deer,
Chico?" as pointing across the river to the deer. "Yeah,
big one." "I
see it every day. It comes to drink there every day." The
young man was preparing another fish to the campfire. "How do you
know it is the same deer?" he asked. "It
is always the same deer when it comes to drink there alone." "I
don't understand." "Stay
here for a month and you will, Chico. That deer is the same deer."
The old man flipped the fish over and had a gulp of beer. The
young man put another fish on the campfire. And when he looked at the
deer again it was gone. "It'll
come again tomorrow," the old man said as taking the fish off and
putting it on the piles of rocks he had set up. "To this
heaven." "This
heaven," the young man repeated his words. "You believe in
heaven, Rico?" "I'd
rather believe in beer. In beer there is heaven. In heaven there is
no beer." "You
drink every day?" "Every
day." "Alone?" "Alone."
.............................
The
sun was getting down. The river was shining gold. The young man went
away as he waved good bye to the old man.
The
old man got into his shack as it was dark, leaving the campfire there
alone. And it soon died away.
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