TWENTY-ONE
ANIJ WATCHES MIKAEL RUNNY AWAY FROM HIM. A sense of urgency rises up violently . . . a sense of constant hunger . . . of loneliness . . . of insecurity. So he must learn how to do what Mikael can do. He had never thought of himself as a thief. But now it is a different era in his life. It doesn’t really matter what he does. As long as he doesn’t kill people, it will be okay. Or at least that is what he wants to believe. He has to take whatever comes to his table. Conscientiousness means nothing to him now. It will not bring him any food, nor happiness, nor security. Life without choices can derail just about anyone at any given time. While all these thoughts are crossing his mind, he briskly pursues Mikael.
After turning a corner at a big building, Mikael calms himself down and walks slowly to the common house, where he lives. Just a few seconds later, he hears stamping strides. He turns to see what is coming. There he is, Anij. Mikael is quite stunned that Anij is actually following him. He also feels Anij’s desperation. But rules are rules. So Mikael runs fast to get rid of him.
Anij keeps following Mikael. The more he follows Mikael, the more desperate he gets. He is running for his life.
Mikael keeps looking back at Anij and asks himself, Shit. Why is he following me? Why does he want to become like me?
Anij is following him very well. The distance between them is closing. Mikael takes an abrupt turn in the middle of a street and jumps a fence. So does Anij.
Now they are running in a garden of a big house.
Mikael makes a long jump over another fence. Then he exits to a big street where many cars are passing by. Anij’s stamina, fuelled by three chocolate bars, doesn’t seem to dissipate at all. Mikael crosses the street rapidly.
Lots of cars make sudden stops and nearly miss Anij by an inch. A car crashes into a fire hydrant.
Mikael is getting angry at himself since he can’t get rid of Anij. And he screams out to him, “Why are you following me?”
“I am hungry! I like food! Teach me your skill!”
“Oh, man . . .”
Mikael keeps on running. It feels like he can’t outrun Anij. So he enters a nearby warehouse. This warehouse used to be a hideout whenever he had to run away from other gang members, and so on. So he knows this warehouse inside and out.
There are lots of big machines in the warehouse; a few abandoned forklift trucks, cranes, conveyor belts, some kind of tanks; and, everywhere, many wooden boxes. It is basically a big, empty space with lots of stuff around. Mikael easily makes his way up to the ladder and climbs up to the third level.
As soon as Anij comes into the warehouse, he is confused and stalls right after his first step through the entrance. He is not surprised by the size of this place at all, even though he had never seen a place like this before. Such areas were restricted to islanders at the naval base. But he is confused because there are too many spots to hide. It seems like it will be impossible to find Mikael again with all these hindrances in front of him. Every few metres, there are just so many unorganized items lying around. All these things seem to distract Anij; his eyes are rolling this way and that way so fast, his brain might not even register everything that he is seeing.
But he is still determined. Suddenly, an old memory back in the good old days from Bikini Island comes up. He used to sneak up on monkeys to see what they do. His stealth was so good that not a single monkey noticed his presence. He just had a eureka moment. So he decides to sit still and just relax till he hears anything. He is very sure that Mikael couldn’t have run out of this building yet. It is very obvious that Mikael will have to move at some point. No one can hold his position for too long. Someone is being very clever here.
Mikael is watching Anij from high above like an eagle. Anij seems to be lost and giving up his expedition. Mikael thinks that this game is just about to finish by itself. He smiles with a little bit of leisure in his mind. His breathing is calming down and his confidence is growing. But he doesn’t know that Anij is actually waiting for him to reveal his position all by himself, because he can’t just sit there forever.
So the game has just turned upside-down. It is now Anij’s, waiting at the entrance of the building till Mikael walks in front of him voluntarily.
Anij is simply looking around and doing not much. He is quite relaxed and not worrying too much about anything. His confidence in his tactic is growing higher and higher. He can’t wait to see Mikael.
It has been at least thirty minutes that both have been completely still in their positions. Not a movement yet has been made.
Mikael starts to suspect why Anij is not going anywhere.
Anij is again paying not much attention to anything.
This seems to be very strange to Mikael. He just doesn’t get it at all. It is only a matter of time before Mikael will get trapped by Anij’s superior plan.
Another thirty minutes or so has past. Both are still very good. But the moment of truth is about to unveil itself rather sooner than later.
Mikael is feeling the pressure and the heat. And he really needs to pee sometime soon. There is no way that he can hold it for much longer. His bladder is about to explode. He realizes that he has been digging his own grave till now. He should have run away a long time ago. There is nothing he can do but come out.
Anij is whistling a tune, his mom’s favourite, “Summertime.” It seems to amuse him quite a lot. But it is written on his face that he can’t wait to see Mikael walking up to him with a sheepish face of a loser.
Finally, Mikael just can’t hold out any longer. He decides to walk out all by himself just like Anij’s plan. He pulls his pants down and takes a piss first. He might as well. And he can’t stay here forever. Then he lights up his cigarette with a disappointed face.
As soon as Mikael lights up his cigarette, Anij hears that noise. A glorious and triumphant smile blooms on Anij’s face.
Mikael slowly stands up and walks toward Anij.
Anij looks up, and there he is. Anij’s prediction had worked so precisely.
Mikael’s footsteps are echoing through the warehouse. He is walking closer to Anij with a bitter smile.
Anij stands up and waits for Mikael to arrive.
Mikael is blowing his fumes in the air with such suavity.
Anij speaks to Mikael. “So . . .”
“So?”
“So . . . You are here.”
“Yeah.”
“I win. You lose.”
“Hm . . . Okay. You got me.”
“So . . . Teach me your skill?”
“It is not that easy, boy.”
“I don’t care. I just want to eat. Okay?”
“Okay. I warned you before. It will be nothing like your expectation. Okay? It will not be pretty. It will get ugly very often. You might not eat every day. Okay? I tell you for the last time: It is very different from what you think and how you think. I am not the mister cool guy, you know? I am just a thief. Nothing more. Nothing less. Okay? Understand? Capisce?”
“Yeah. Teach me. Okay?”
“Okay. But I have to take you somewhere before I teach you anything.”
“What?”
“Just follow me. Don’t be surprised.”
“What? Why?”
“Whatever. Just follow me. Okay?”
“Okay.”
It is getting dark already. Mikael leads the way to his common house, where he lives. They both walk through the park for about twenty minutes to the deepest part of the park with hundreds of untrimmed trees around. Anij has no idea where Mikael is taking him. But he decides to take a little risk for the better and greater reason. They pass a little ditch and bridge in the middle of nowhere. And there it is, the house. It looks like it has been abandoned for a few decades. It is quite worn out, but it is a big building with faded paint and minor structural failures. This building was probably for a park maintenance crew or something. Probably no one ever bothers to come this far into the park.
Anij wonders why Mikael brings him here. Bad and unknown feelings are passing through Anij’s mind. He is not sure what Mikael will do to him. So he stops in front of the building.
Mikael looks back at Anij then he stops as well. He asks Anij, “Come on. What? You don’t want to learn all of a sudden?”
“What is this?”
“What? This house?”
“Yeah.”
“This is where I live.”
“Oh, really? It is so big and so far away . . .”
“So?”
“Oh . . . Just asking . . .”
“Then come on. Or you can just leave. Whatever.”
“No. I am coming . . .”
Then they get to the front porch.
Mikael stops in front of the front door and speaks to Anij.
“Here it is. Before we go in, you tell me now. You want to leave now? Or you still want to go in?”
“Teach me. Okay?”
“Okay . . . Now you are on your own. You asked for it. I am not responsible for you anymore. Okay? You will have to survive on your own. Okay?”
“Okay.”
“Let me go first.”
Mikael opens the door and there are lots of boys in the house. The house is a mess. Boys are playing games and throwing stuff everywhere. Lots of dinner plates with half-finished food are on tables. Furniture is everywhere. There are quite a few holes in the floors. Repulsive and distinctive odours travel continuously. The house is filled with cigarette smoke and liquor bottles. This really surprises Anij. And one other interesting thing about these boys is that everyone looks so young. They all look like teenagers. He wonders how all these boys ended up here.
They all see Mikael coming in.
“Hey, what took you so long?”
“I got caught up with something. No big deal.”
“What? You got caught up? Shit . . . It must be bad, right?”
“Not so bad . . .”
“When was the last time you got caught?”
“I don’t know . . . Not for a while, I guess. By the way, I got something.”
“What is it? Some money?”
“Girls?”
“What is it?”
“Lots of food?”
“Where is it? Show us, man!”
“Okay. Okay. Just don’t be surprised. Okay?”
“Whatever, man. Just show us what you got.”
“Okay. Here we go.”
Mikael grabs Anij and thrusts him into the room. There is Anij standing in front of everyone. Everyone is astonished. A few seconds of silence. Then they all scream at Mikael.
“Who the hell is that? A stranger?”
“You forgot about the rule?”
“You crazy? What are you, nuts?”
“What the hell is your problem, man?”
“What is going on?”
“Why is he here?”
“Do you even know what the boss will do to you?”
“What? What? But why?”
“Here we go again . . . another stupid, screwed-up story . . .”
“You know what happened to Jack before. Ha?”
So many words are thrown at Mikael with much temper and anger. Mikael was expecting this. And he is not sure what he has to tell them. Boys are walking up to Mikael. Anij is scared and has a frozen face. He is not certain what he should do at this point. The boys make a big circle around Mikael and Anij. This absolutely terrifies Anij. Mikael is trying to explain the situation.
“So here is what I got caught up with.”
“What do you mean?”
“Who the hell is that?”
“Let me just explain. Okay?”
“Come on, man. We don’t want no trouble here. You want to explain now? You already brought some shit with you.”
“That is already bad enough, man . . .”
“What now?”
“Anything more? Or should I say, anything crazier?”
“No. No . . . Just let me explain this.”
In the middle of this chaos, here is the boss, breaking into this commotion. He is walking down the stairs and coming toward Mikael and Anij.
“What is this commotion? What is going on?”
“Ask Mikael!”
“Yeah. He is the problem now.”
“Just look at the Asian guy. Why is he here, anyway?”
“Shut up! Shut up!” The boss shuts everyone up. Then he comes close to Mikael and Anij with a stiff look. It is impossible to read his mind. But it is pretty obvious that he is angry. He takes a moment to ask Mikael, “Who is this, Mikael? Our new member . . .?”
“Yeah . . . It kind of happened, you know . . .”
“How?”
“Well . . . He saw me doing my work. And you know . . . He was following me. And . . . mmm . . . He threatened me to teach him about my skills and some other shit like that . . .”
“What? I lost you . . . Say that again . . .” The boss can’t believe what he is hearing. But he tries to keep his composure cool. His face has gone cold and his eyes are checking up on Anij from head to toe. Then he asks Mikael, while he circles around the two of them, “So what is your plan?”
“Plan? Uh . . . I thought he could join us. You know, doing some donkey work that no one wants to do . . . You know, that kind of stuff . . .”
“Hm . . . Very interesting. And how is he going to do that? Have you thought of that?”
“Oh . . . You know . . . I can teach him how to do some stuff. Then he will be good . . . Yeah . . .”
The boss is just looking at Mikael without blinking. Like a lizard.
“You know what rule number one is?”
“Yeah.”
“Then what have you done?”
“Well . . . You know. Like I said . . . He could do something for us . . . He must be good at something, right? Like me?”
“You . . . idiot!”
Then the boss smacks Mikael’s face really hard. Mikael flies a bit into the air and falls down hard on the floor. The boss is not even twitching at all. But everyone is shocked that the boss lets out his fury upon Mikael. Not a single boy in this house ever saw this coming this fast. Another few seconds of silence. The spectators back off slowly.
Mikael’s face is pushed into the floor. The blood starts to lurk on the surface of the floor slowly. He can barely breathe. He makes no sound at all, as if it is the rule to be quiet.
Anij is completely petrified. He is so not sure what he should do. Perhaps being a thief is not something that he really wants. As a little boy, this new culture hits him in a different dimension. He now regrets deeply what he was wishing before. And he especially doesn’t want to get smacked on his face. This awkward situation puts him right on a chopping board. He is looking at the boss and trying to smile.
Everyone definitely feels the uncontrollable rage from the boss. The clock is ticking. Someone has to come up with a good way to calm the boss down very soon. But no one steps forward. Mikael is the boss’s right hand and he is down on the floor. Lots of boys are not sure if this is the moment for a change in the structure of this organization or some kind of show to demonstrate that any betrayer will face punishment without any mercy. Silent conversations are made to one another.
The boss takes out a handkerchief from his back pocket and gently cleans his bloody fist. It is still very quiet. He enjoys his power and authority in this house very much. Then he resumes his stance and begins to circle around Mikael and Anij again. Round two starts now.
Anij can sense that the danger is creeping up on his legs very fast. His heart races like galloping horses. He wants to run away faster than a race car. His eyes are scanning the boss very carefully, so as not to make him angry. If the boss doesn’t like the way Anij looks at him, God knows what will happen then. Anij is silently asking the other boys for some help. No sign of help from the boys, as expected. For him, it feels like everyone is enjoying this show.
The boss takes out one cigarette from his shirt pocket. A boy quickly runs up to him and lights the cigarette. The boss takes a deep puff. His eyes are full of mystery. It is almost impossible to tell what he thinks.
As soon as the boss starts to smoke, Anij is even more stressed out. Usually people smoke heavily when something is bad. He is gulping his saliva unnaturally. Many thoughts put him in a cubicle of predicament. He is stranded with no alternatives.
The boss is about to finish his cigarette. The fumes cover his face. That makes this situation even more ominous. It is almost like a movie moment, the revelation of the devil or something.
The moaning from Mikael expresses his pain.
And of course, Anij is still standing there not knowing what to do. He doesn’t try to say anything.
The boss finishes his cigarette and steps back to sit down on his crown chair. He looks at everyone and closes his eyes as if he doesn’t want to admit the reality.
A sigh of relief from Anij. He thinks that the boss might be calm now.
The boss takes a while to look at Anij. Then he suddenly calls out a name.
“Shtik! Shtik! Take him down.”
“Me?”
“Yes. That is your name, right?”
“Yeah.”
“You just do what I say! Okay?”
“Okay.”
Shtik comes closer to Anij and stands tall. This is a big boy with heft power.
The boss says to Shtik, “Knock him out good. Okay? Shtik?”
“Okay . . .”
Shtik doesn’t ask the boss why. And he likes to keep it that way. Without much thinking, this fight proceeds rapidly. He starts to crack his knuckles and neck for a light warm-up. And he is adjusting his posture for fighting.
Anij also is in combat mode. Although he never really had to fight like this, he is not so sure what actually goes on in a real fight. There is no time to think.
Without any word or any sign, the fight begins automatically. Shtik shoots a jab at Anij. Without a doubt, Anij gets a smack. Even though it was a jab, it feels like a lot more than that.
Everyone gets excited. Shtik is the best fighter in this house. Suddenly, a round of bets starts to take place.
“One to one-point-one on Shtik and one to five on the Asian guy! Anyone wants to make some money?”
“Hey, put twenty cents on Shtik!”
“Me, too!”
“Let me bet on the Asian guy! Thirty cents! You never know.”
“I am a safe investor. Ten cents on Shtik!”
“Make sure you write them all down correctly, okay? Ain’t no bullshit later for me, man. Okay?”
“Come on. Don’t be a pussy. I will go for twenty cents on the Asian guy!”
“Just put five for me.”
“Put five on both for me!”
“Slow down! Five . . . twenty . . . ten . . .”
This is so much fun for everyone. Their lives have been always a bit boring and dull. So this becomes a new and fresh event for them.
Shtik puts a smile on his face. His face is telling Anij that he is coming with full force for the next punch. He throws one more jab and a straight punch to Anij’s face. His usual moves. Anij takes all of its power and gets knocked down immediately, right next to Mikael. His world is completely drunk and unbalanced. He can’t hear and see anything but a swirling world in front of him. His body just became an exercise sandbag. A puddle of blood is spewing out from his nose and mouth. And a deep cut on his cheek. He can almost hear the screaming from his cheek.
As soon as the boys see the blood, everyone is going nuts.
“Yeah! Shtik is the man!”
“I knew it.”
“Shit, I lost all my money!”
“He’s still got the punches.”
“My money!”
“That Asian dude has nothing . . .”
“Wow! That is great, man.”
“Come on! Show me the money!”
“I lost my money because of you! Now you pay me back!”
“What? Everyone makes their own decision.”
“Shit! Shit!”
Then the boss interrupts with a much milder manner.
“Shut up!”
Everyone is silent within one second.
The boss stands up from his crown chair and walks close to Mikael.
“Mikael! What was your plan again?”
“Uh . . . I can . . . teach him . . . something . . . you know . . .”
Mikael tries to answer through his pain while he is lying down on the floor.
The boss speaks to Mikael with such sarcasm: “Just look at your Asian friend. He is just like you. And you? You will teach him something? Wow . . . Teach him how to be a bitch? Who can’t even throw a few punches? Is that what you will teach?”
“No . . . My skills . . .”
The boss’s anger goes through the roof, and he grabs Mikael and yells in his ear, “When I talk, you don’t talk back. Okay?”
Mikael throws a sickly smile at the boss and answers, “Sorry . . .”
The boss looks around and yells at the other boys, “Boys, get those dirty stupid shits out of this house! Now!”
“Mikael, too?”
“That stupid asshole, too! Now! Move!”
“Okay . . .”
Lots of boys like Mikael. So they are very reluctant to move him out of the house. But of course they don’t care about Anij. A few boys are taking them outside. The rest of the boys resume what they were doing before Mikael came in. Mikael’s and Anij’s bodies are dragged outside the house. Then the door shuts tightly.
Mikael and Anij are beaten up badly. Even though all they took was just a few punches. But it seemed like more than sucker punches. No energy to talk at all. They are powerless vegetables on the ground. Even breathing gets harder. A long moment of silence exists. After a while, Anij speaks to Mikael. “I am sorry. I am so sorry.”
“You should be sorry. Ah . . . But you know what? It wasn’t so bad, was it?”
“It was bad. Maybe not too too bad . . .”
“Last time I had to fight with a guy, that guy broke one of my arms and three of my teeth. So this isn’t too bad after all. Don’t you think?”
“Your arm and teeth? Wow . . . That is bad. My face hurt bad . . .”
“I guess so. You got three shots in your face. Those were pretty good punches, you know. He used to be better. But not so much anymore.”
“No . . . He is good. Good punch. You hurt, too?”
“Well . . . My nose hurts. You are still bleeding from your nose?”
“My nose hurt bad.”
“Haha. Now you got a boxer’s nose. It is a sign of being a real man, right?”
“Real man? Haha . . . Maybe . . .”
They look at each other’s faces and laugh.
A herd of clouds is covering the sky. Soon a thunderstorm punishes the ground with heavy rain. And of course, the lightning follows with unpleasant jolts. Mikael and Anij can hear the sound of the thunderstorm’s angry roars from a distance. It is separating the sky and the ground. A drop of rain hits Mikael’s face.
“Shit. Now what?”
“Bad weather.”
“Yeah. Looks like we are going to get drenched like a mouse under the sewer.”
“What?”
“Never mind.”
As soon as their words are done, heavy rain starts to pour. The raining calms down both of them. It is soaking their minds and tapping their pain. Their eyes are closed. They keep lying on the ground as if they were expecting this punishment.
Mikael says to Anij, “What a life . . .”
“Yeah.”