Fever

I remember it vividly, as if it was real. Perhaps it was real, I cannot say for sure. I was ill, with high fever, lying in bed in an empty house. I was swinging in and out of sleep as if on a crazy ride when suddenly it all stopped and I felt immense relief.

Then my uncle came into the room. He was tall, his head almost reached the ceiling. I did not remember him ever being so tall.

”Uncle Jay,” I said, “You came to visit me. But how?"

"Yes, my boy. I am here because you are sick. I wanted to talk to you for a spell."

"Where is everybody?"

"You father is fixing the tractor, your mother is in town, buying seed, and your brothers are by that barn yonder."

"The barn,” I said slowly, “I remember you were working the… the… What do you call it? By the barn. The machine with the moving parts."

"I only have a little bit of time, so listen carefully. Always be a good man. Don’t drink too much, like I did. It’s gonna make you violent. It’s gonna hurt your loved ones. Your woman. They are the only thing that matters in this world. You hear? Take good care of them."

"No, uncle, I remember a thing fell on your leg and smashed it to bits.” I looked at his long legs covered in denim. They looked fine. “You died a few days later. In the hospital."

"Yes,” he said seriously, “I died. I came back from the Land of the Dead."

"What’s it like down there?"

"It’s peaceful and still. A warm sun shines on the left side of your face while a cool moon illuminates the right. There are these… insects? They are everywhere. But you make do. Try to be a good man.” He looked back at the door. “I have to go now. I will tell you one more thing, and remember it for the rest of your life.”

I cannot remember what he told me and it is killing me.

Posted by: Paweł Kowaluk