The Hungry Scavengers

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The world is as lively as it was a few hours before. But the world inside the boy sitting on the steps at the entrance of the dilapidated hut is annihilated as if it never existed before. The corpse of his mother lies on the cold floor under the dripping roof. The wind has stopped blowing and the sky is getting dusky with the accumulation of thick layers of clouds at the horizon. The mother birds are returning to their nests, after the tiresome day, to feed their loved ones waiting for them. The baby monkey, on a tree few meters from the hut, is glued to the warm breast of his mother and looking into the fearsome eyes of the mother repeatedly. The hyenas, hidden behind the bush, are waiting for the corpse to be buried so their children can be fed.
The ominous silence sets in and the boy constantly stares at the barren land lying before the hut. The face looks like an old white statue in a museum, not dusted for many years. The channels of dried-up tears can be seen amidst the dust on the cheeks. The world seems superfluous to him. Suddenly, his body vibrates and his face turns greenish-white like a raw tomato. This is followed by a few more tremors. He returns to the same position as he was- staring at the ground. But this time he is not blinking his dried eyes.

The sun is rising at the horizon and the hut stands the same as it was last night. However, no one can be seen anywhere. At the place of the corpse are the claws of an animal and at the place of the boy is a pool of blood.


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