Peter was hated by the men in the village. He was different. That was enough. He was always near his mother. Which was where the village idiots wanted to be. There were only a few other women in town. Anyone who could, left. And they’d be gone soon, too, Peter’s mother often told him. Until then she wanted to have fun. And whatever she meant by that, it always began with her walking down the dusty street of that Polish backwater in a short skirt, looking as if she were going to some sort of casting. Peter knew what casting shows were, he knew everything, because even in the far reaches of Poland they had the internet. Peter found the way his mother conducted herself strange. She laughed too loudly whenever some alcoholic spoke to her, her skirt slid up to her crotch, and she forgot her son, that is Peter himself, as soon as a man showed up. Peter had no idea why she preferred the company of toothless alcoholics to his own company. There was nobody here who could appreciate beauty in any form. It took practice to recognize beauty, training that could never have taken place here. It was ugly in this hole of a town. Flat, no trees, no hills, just fields and houses like ruins. As already mentioned, most of the people had disappeared, Peter was the only one who didn’t want to leave. He didn’t care about the location. It was familiar. That counted. Peter liked his own company if he didn’t have to talk to people or hear noises or squeeze under a gate that had just jangled shut, or if his mother was away. Being with his mother was the norm. When norms were disrupted, Peter panicked. He had no idea why. He only knew it was the way he was. Mostly he felt as if he were sleeping and wanted to wake up. His mother disappeared into their apartment with some alcoholic. Peter didn’t like men.

There were too many of them.

Thought

DON

Anywhere things were interesting, they were sitting around. When they showed up in groups it was unpleasant. The group in front of Don’s house—well, more like “house”—managed to lure over a little stray dog the other day. The cadaver sat there for several days.