In the first part, the kids Yossi and Matt were trying to find a unique bird. They had found her next to a construction site but then Yossi lost Matt. In the second part, Yossi is worried for Matt but he fails to go back and find him. The morning after he is waiting for his auntie to pick him up for the weekend and while waiting, he vomits.
“Oh, darling — you sick?” mother rushed to clean the table and Yossi’s face. Father came and collected the pieces into a box. Yossi was pale and felt cold and the awful smell of half digested eggs up his nose. “Go wash your face, you’d be alright!” father said.
He was looking at the mirror as he was brushing teeth and washing his face again and again and again. He heard only fractions of the argument that came from the living room.
“You want to send him to my sister like that?” mother said “Are you out of your mind?”
“Why do you have to be so heavy. He just puked. It fucking happens.”
“He is sick and he should stay with us this weekend!”
“I can’t believe…”
When Yossi re-entered the room they stopped. Father put on his smile and asked “How do you feel now?”
“I am not feeling so well”
“You’ll be fine. Sometimes it just happens for no reason and we ate what you ate so no reason to think it was some stomach p-o-i-s-o-n-i-n-g.” he had emphasized the last word and looked straight at mother.
“Lie here and you’ll be better soon.” was mother’s words, last words he heard before falling asleep.
Yossi woke up in the afternoon. Auntie was sitting on the couch reading a newspaper. “How do you feel sweetie? Are you better?”
“Hi, auntie. Where are…”
“Your parents went on their business. You were sleeping when I’ve got here and I’ve finished every crossword I could find in this house. Now I am more than ready to leave when you are.”
“I had a bad dream, auntie.”
“Everyone has these dreams, Yossi… You can tell me all about it when we go.”
“I was running real fast and a pack of dogs were chasing me. They were barking real hard and I was really scared.”
“Oh, and did you get bitten, darling?” auntie asked with a little smile.
“No auntie but it was terrible. They’ve got to me but they never bit me, they were wet and stinky. They smelled like sewage and dead animals and they rubbed themselves against me and some of them had fallen asleep and I couldn’t move because they were so big and heavy and I’ve tried but…”
“Okay, I had enough of this. Everybody has bad dreams and you’re a bit sick and that’s probably the reason. Just let it go. It’s just a dream. Dreams are meaningless.”
Yossi got up and went to the window.
“Okay, I wanna leave now Yossi, if you may. I’ve waited here long enough. It’s been two hours now. You have all your stuff ready, let’s go.”
Yossi put on his shoes as slow as he could. He tied his laces with care and looked for his hat all over his room even though it was where he had always left it.
The sun blinded him and he covered his face with his hand. They closed the door behind them and hid the key under the mat.
Midway to auntie’s Yossi said “Auntie, do you think the Germans will ever come back?”
“Yossi, what’s wrong with?” auntie said loudly losing her temper. “Don’t you ever speak with me about the fucking Germans!” she took a moment to calm down and added “I am sorry for my language but never ask me these questions again, please. You are funny this morning. You are sick and you had this dream and what does the germans have to do with all of it?” she put her hand on his forehead “you’re fine though.”
Yossi was silent for the rest of the walk. Along the way when auntie met friends and introduced them to her nephew he just nodded and never looked them in the face and she said “excuse him please, he doesn’t feel so well”
“Let’s rest on this bench for a while.” she said “We’re pretty close but I think you need a rest and I could use some shade too” and they sat on a bench under the shade of a big oak tree. “Here, I’ve got you an apple.” she said and gave him a small green apple she seemed to get out of nowhere.
“I’m not hungry”
“I know you’re not but eat it anyway. It’s sweet and it would uplift you.”
Yossi was sitting on the bench with the apple in his hand.
“Hi Yossi, where have you been?” he heard a voice behind him. He turned his head to look.
The apple fell down.
