short story

Winter 2008 by Mariana Agria


We had been walking for miles and I was starting to become tired, not only because my feet had started to ache but also because Joe could not stop talking. He was not like the other boys I knew from school. He seemed much more shy when he was with the other classmates. I don’t know why I decided to ask him where he was going after school. Now his trifling conversations were boring me. He was telling me about how he once got himself cut in a crevice on that very same spot where we were standing when he suddenly chuckled. He was starting to annoy me with his silly stories. ‘Here it was! See that crack over there on that rock? We were running from the shepherd when I suddenly fell and cut my hand.’
‘Why were even you running from a shepherd?’ I asked quickly, suspecting foul play. He did not answer right away, I think he was pondering if should tell me the reason or not. I harkened while he strode along the roadside. ‘Well, I was with the other guys from school and we kind of got mad at the sheep because they were so loud. We were trying to take a nap on the grass and they were really loud. One of the sheep just had had little lambs and you can’t imagine how loud they all were. So… You know Tom? Tom and me, we stifled one of the baby lambs…’
I was vexed and could not believe him. He kept going as if was a natural thing, explaining how he had deceived the shepherd when he found out one of the sheep had died. Then he started praising his own sagacity and his cunning behavior, because he had been much smarter than Tom. ‘You see, he does not even know how to trick somebody during a chase. I do!’