Duel
It was a good day, no anger, no fights, no disagreements.
The train was half empty. No familiar faces (the way I like it).
I sat next to the window. Daydreaming about my dinner and a cold beverage. The train approached the station, I glanced out to see if I notice anyone on the platform. No one. Good.
I walked down the stairs, turned right from the station. And then I saw him. Standing at the back of the fence, hands in the pockets of the Victorian coat. I looked at him, he looked at me. I walked towards him. There was no point to try to escape the inevitable.
He extended his hand to greet me. Strong grip.
He didn’t say anything, just smiled. No words are needed in a situation like this. I looked into his eyes, they reflected the pain of humanity. I almost felt sorry for him.
“Is it the day”? — I asked.
“I hope we are not doing it here”?
“ No. Let’s go to the park behind the station, my seconds are there, waiting for us”.
In the park, there was not a soul but two men waiting for us. On the ground, they had different weapons laid out — pistols, swords, and daggers.
“I have no skill fighting with swords; I choose pistols. What are the rules”?
“ You stand back to back, walk away, count thirty-three feet, turn around and wait for the opponent. As soon as you face each other, pull the trigger. That’s the rules”.
I felt sick. Is that it? I thought I was not afraid of death but my body felt different. It was shaking.
“ What is thirty-three feet in normal human steps”?
“Count fifteen steps and turn”.
We came close to each other, turned around.
“Go”!
One, two, three.. the longest count in my life. I never wanted to die in this town. I hated this town.
Seven, eight, nine… I could turn and shoot him now. Who would contest it?
Thirteen, fourteen, fifteen… I turned, he was already waiting for me.
We lifted the guns… click, click — the sound of an empty gun.
And then from nowhere, I heard a song. The beautiful voice of Nancy Sinatra.
