The Conversation

Just kind of an exercise I kept wanting to try out. It's not very good, but that's alright.

“It’s not that I want to be defensive, but I’ve got to refute what I see as wrong here, and you’re wrong about just about everything. First of all, I never said that the earth was flat, but I’ve no clue if it is spherical. I’m not saying it isn’t, I’m just saying I don’t know, you know? And what was that about how you thought I was shocked at how a lantern works? I’m not shocked, I just thought it was amazing that we have something so much better than just flickering candles now days,” the first voice said.

“And I’ll tell you another thing,” he continued. “I’ve never once thought that horses were the fastest thing in the world. Dolphins, I’ve heard, are really fast. You keep trying to put me in some corner with what you said I said, but all I’ve said is that it’s interesting or that I don’t know, so quit putting words in my mouth and give me some breathing room.”

There was a long pause. The first voice imagined that his silent counterpart was perhaps thinking, or maybe they’d fallen asleep. It was rather late at night and so very chilly. 

“This place has an awful draft,” the first voice started when the other voice finally piped up.

“Look,” the voice started. “You think you say all those things with such eloquence and give yourself room to wiggle like that, but you don’t. You make crazy statements all the time. For example, what did you say the other day, ‘everyone’s a liar and everyone’s a cheat’?”

The voice continued; however, seemingly not waiting for a response from the first.

“You get into these, I don’t know, spells where you’re just not even listening to yourself and you just go on and on and on about all sorts of things. Why not just take a breath yourself and collect those wild thoughts of yours?”

Now there was quiet again for a time. Neither of them knew who ought to speak next, or even what to say if they did. It was always like this they’d argue and argue to no avail; never reaching a conclusion or accepting any sort of reasonable compromise. One would sulk, pettily, until they were angry enough to start a new argument. It was an ongoing cycle that both of them knew couldn’t last forever. At some point, the end would come and that would be it. No more talking at all.

A stomach grumbled loudly and broke the tenuous silence. 

“You should’ve eaten something,” the first voice said with just a bit of feeling.

“What am I going to eat?” the second retorted, angrily all of a sudden. “We’re stuck in a cage! Or did you forget?!”

Cold steel, that’s right, had he really forgotten? The bars were the flattened type and riveted at each intersection. No way out. A gust of wind hit the cage and it started swinging lightly from side to side. Ten feet down, or so they had said. The thought of it brought up all the despair and frustration he had felt upon waking up in the cage in the first place. 

“You know,” the first voice said, his voice deep with sorrow. “I don’t think you’re wrong about me. I probably do everything you just said. I tried to keep my thoughts straight sometimes it just feels impossible. Like my head is just running off on its own and there’s nothing I can do about it. The odd thing is that it feels exhausting at the same time. Like I’m constantly pushing a boulder up a hill and never making any progress.”

The gust of wind had been a precursor to the rain. Tiny droplets began falling making a tinny noise as they hit the metal. Teeth began chattering almost immediately.

“This might be the one that does us in.” 

“I’d be surprised if it didn’t. Last night was the coldest yet. I can’t imagine we’d fare well soaked to the bone.

“I still think your grasp of politics is abysmal.”

“I can’t really argue that point, now can I? And what an odd time to bring it up.”

“And now we’re going to die, freezing, starved, and hanging in a metal cage out in the rain.”

“It certainly looks that way. What do you think it’s going to feel like?” The first voice said through teeth that only through effort were kept from clacking together involuntarily.

“Whatever it is,” the man said to himself. “It’s got to be better than this.”

After a while he didn’t have the energy to speak. He tried to huddle up to conserve his body heat but even then he wondered why he was even doing that.

It was odd, he just felt cold for the longest time and then his feet started to warm up. Amazing, deep warmth that he hadn’t felt for a long time.

“Maybe we’ll be alright,” he gasped. “Are you there?”

But the voice he'd used to keep himself company all this time in the cage was silent. His mind was going as his body began to shut itself down.

The warmth began to spread up his legs and soon engulfed his whole body in its thick comfort. He was more comfortable than he’d ever been.

The rain kept falling long after the man had passed. Pattering apologetically across his still form and ringing spitefully against the steel of the cage.

Reviews

[Delmar Cooper]

I think it is brilliant. As I read I mentally made notes on things to suggest: "Give the voices names," no, as it turned out that was precisely a*s front wrong, would have ruined the story. My only advice then is : Spread the writing more, maybe by double spacing paragraphs - whatever it takes to make some reader friendly white space. And, consider placing thoughts in italicized font.
Or: Leave it to hell alone and bask in the applause.
Thanks for sharing
Delmar Cooper