Last Days in the Desert Page #3

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On a whim. With little differences

that must mean the world to him,

a branch that crooks

in a different direction,

one egg more or less

in the nest of a flea.

What a self-centered...

self-indulgent creature he is. Isn't he?

Deaf-mute. Insatiable.

These things he expects of you.

Do you think anyone will care?

Men of 1,000 years from now?

What's it like to be in his presence?

Is there a face?

No.

There is no face.

There is no face.

There's a thing that swallows you.

It holds you together while it's

tearing you apart and it's terrifying.

It makes you feel worthless...

and it makes you want to be worthless.

And all the while, it makes you believe

that you and he are one and the same...

That... that is...

Well, that can be quite confusing.

That's how I remember it, anyway.

It's been a million years since he

so much as looked in my direction.

- Your pride made him angry.

- I'm not proud. I am not proud.

He's the proud one.

- How's our little wager going?

- I do not wager.

Oh, dear me, course not.

- What?

- You already know the outcome, don't you?

- No. Not at all.

- Yes. Yes, you do.

I am able to do that generally, yes.

But when it comes to you

and your little things, not always.

I could tell you what would've happened if

you'd passed by this place a moment earlier.

Would you like to know?

The boy would not have met you.

After the mother's death,

his relationship

with the father deteriorates.

He puts up with it

for several years,

expecting that the father

will not live long.

Eventually, he poisons the father

and is hanged for it.

Along the way, the boy

has a son who remains here.

Like the grandfather, he loves the desert.

That's how it would have been this time.

In previous tellings of the world,

it was all a little different.

Sometimes it was nothing but love

between the father and the son.

That's how your father amuses himself.

Now it's your turn to take a hand.

Can you do any better?

Why do you live here?

Because the desert is ruthless.

It strips you of your vanities,

your illusions, and...

gives you the opportunity

to see yourself for who you are.

Isn't that why you're here?

Because your god speaks louder here?

God speaks wherever a man wants to listen.

What I said to you about my son...

It doesn't matter that we don't talk.

We're not women.

A father talks through example.

He's the best boy in the world.

Too good, perhaps.

Do you see that?

The smooth rock jutting out.

- Just below the crack there.

- The reddish rock?

Yes. That's Jasper stone. I'm sure of it.

I need a sample to take to market.

- I would share any profits with you.

- No, that wouldn't be necessary.

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