by Elodie Lenardon
“He didn’t die! I’m telling you!” exclaimed a very agitated man.
“I can’t believe we’re having this argument again,” retorted another man, who looked quite annoyed with the other one. “If only you could spare me of your complete nonsense for once.” He was looking in front of himself, fixing the void, completely avoiding facing the agitated man as if he wished to physically show him his objection for this discussion.
The two men were having a vivid dispute and, for the past five minutes, the pitch of their voices had been rising in a crescendo. They were seated on a couch, in front of a television displaying the end credits of a show.
“It isn’t nonsense. It’s a possibility that is very likely probable! He might be alive,” countered the agitated one while standing up. He expressed himself with a lot of movement and dramatic hand gestures, seemingly unable of sitting still.
“Fine,” conceded the annoyed one, finally looking the other man in the eyes. “I will tell you this for the millionth time: he-is-dead.”
“No, no, no. It’s impossible! I’m telling you.”
“Oh, how surprising, you still want to keep going! Aren’t you tired by now?”
“I’m very serious.”
“I know you are! That’s the problem!”
“I’m not crazy! I thought about it, I have theories, you just don’t want to listen to me!”
“Okay, okay… enlighten to me your theory, please,” said the annoyed one, before adding with hidden irony, “I cannot wait to hear it.”
“My main theory is this: we didn’t see a body. And you know the rule that says, ‘no body, not dead!’ My argument is valid, admit it.”
“Oh, yeah, that famous theory! You just forget one detail – he fell from a cliff. A cliff high of at least a hundred meters! How could anyone survive this, huh?”
“There was water, you idiot. It broke his fall and saved him!”
“You do realize that if you fall badly at a certain speed from a certain high, the water will literally feel solid as the ground and, therefore, kill you!”
“He probably turned oh himself at the last second and made a proper plunge which saved him!”
“He was badly hurt, remember? Damn it, he got shot! He probably lost conscience during the fall and was definitely unable of making a perfect plunge!”
“I’m telling you, he made it!”
They suddenly both stared at each other, complete urgency drawn all over their features. The agitated one was still standing, not wanting to go back to the couch where the other man was still seated and who was, now, crossing his arms on his torso, his mouth set in a straight line, obvious irritation drawn on his face.
“Let’s say he did survive the fall,” started the annoyed man, “how does he survive after that? He is badly hurt; has probably lost tons of blood; is on a desert island; has no food, and he has absolutely no possibility to contact anyone.”
“He could have used some leaves to stop the bleeding; probably made a fire; got some rest, and… a boat passed by and took him on board!”
“Right, I forgot that leaves were enough to save someone from a gunshot wound… Doctors would love to hear that!”
“You know what your problem is?”
“No,” he inclined his head, showing interest for the first time. “Please tell me.”
“You always see the bad; always the pessimistic one.”
“Excuse me for using my brain and making theories that are definitely more plausible.”
“You are so annoying! I can’t believe I keep trying to argue with you.”
“Well, you can go argue with someone else – it’s fine by me!”
“Perfect then. Good night!”
“Good night.”
The animated man took his coat, walked to the door, and left the house in a minute. The other one, who had stayed on the couch, seemed deeply lost in his thoughts; he must definitely be regretting certain words.
Apart from the television that was still on, a sudden calm occurred in the house. It was, at present, close to midnight and a certain obscurity – despite the lights being on – was slowly inviting itself all over the place. A short moment later, the annoyed man finally stood up from the couch and turned off the television. When he planned to move in the direction of the stairs, the main door suddenly opened again; the other man was back, an expression close to surrender on his face.
“I actually have no one else to talk to,” he quickly said while entering the hall and refusing to look at the other man. “I also happen to live here, so…”
“Yes, I am much aware of that fact. You really are an idiot, you know?”
“Yes. But so are you. I assume that’s why we’re friends.”
“Yes, probably. Come on, let’s go to bed. We definitely watched too much television and it rattled our spirits!”
“Yes, I agree.”
They both smiled and patted each other on the shoulders before taking the stairs. When they were about to each go inside their respective rooms, the agitated man stopped in front of the other one and said softly, seeming quite hesitant: “I just…”
“Hmm?” inquired the other one.
“I just think that we should have investigated more. I could be right, you know.”
“You could… But you are not – and I truly hope that you are not. So, stop it now.”
“We should not have done it.”
“What is done is done. I advise you move on.”
The two men both disappeared in their respective rooms; the lights went off, the obscurity now fully occupying the house. It was finally calm; the storm had passed – or just momentarily, at least. It will surely take a while before that house finds some tranquility again; although, it probably never will.