by Elodie Lenardon<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHe didn\u2019t die! I\u2019m telling you!\u201d exclaimed a very agitated man.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI can\u2019t believe we\u2019re having this argument again,\u201d retorted another man, who looked quite annoyed with the other one. \u201cIf only you could spare me of your complete nonsense for once.\u201d 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt isn\u2019t nonsense. It\u2019s a possibility that is very likely probable! He might be alive,\u201d countered the agitated one while standing up. He expressed himself with a lot of movement and dramatic hand gestures, seemingly unable of sitting still. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFine,\u201d conceded the annoyed one, finally looking the other man in the eyes. \u201cI will tell you this for the millionth time: he-is-dead<\/em>.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNo, no, no. It\u2019s impossible! I\u2019m telling you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOh, how surprising, you still want to keep going! Aren\u2019t you tired by now?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019m very serious.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI know you are! That\u2019s the problem!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019m not crazy! I thought about it, I have theories, you just don\u2019t want to listen to me!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOkay, okay\u2026 enlighten to me your theory, please,\u201d said the annoyed one, before adding with hidden irony, \u201cI cannot wait to hear it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMy main theory is this: we didn\u2019t see a body. And you know the rule that says, \u2018no body, not dead!\u2019 My argument is valid, admit it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOh, 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?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere was water, you idiot. It broke his fall and saved him!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou 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!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHe probably turned oh himself at the last second and made a proper plunge which saved him!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHe 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!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019m telling you, he made it!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLet\u2019s say he did survive the fall,\u201d started the annoyed man, \u201chow 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.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHe could have used some leaves to stop the bleeding; probably made a fire; got some rest, and\u2026 a boat passed by and took him on board!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cRight, I forgot that leaves were enough to save someone from a gunshot wound\u2026 Doctors would love to hear that!\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou know what your problem is?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNo,\u201d he inclined his head, showing interest for the first time. \u201cPlease tell me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou always see the bad; always the pessimistic one.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cExcuse me for using my brain and making theories that are definitely more plausible.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou are so annoying! I can\u2019t believe I keep trying to argue with you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWell, you can go argue with someone else \u2013 it\u2019s fine by me!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPerfect then. Good night!\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cGood night.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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 \u2013 despite the lights being on \u2013 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI actually have no one else to talk to,\u201d he quickly said while entering the hall and refusing to look at the other man. \u201cI also happen to live here, so\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYes, I am much aware of that fact. You really are an idiot, you know?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYes. But so are you. I assume that\u2019s why we\u2019re friends.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYes, probably. Come on, let\u2019s go to bed. We definitely watched too much television and it rattled our spirits!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYes, I agree.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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: \u201cI just\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHmm?\u201d inquired the other one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI just think that we should have investigated more. I could be right, you know.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou could\u2026 But you are not \u2013 and I truly hope that you are not. So, stop it now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe should not have done it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat is done is done. I advise you move on.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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 \u2013 or just momentarily, at least. It will surely take a while before that house finds some tranquility again; although, it probably never will.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cHe didn\u2019t die! I\u2019m telling you!\u201d exclaimed a very agitated man.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[8,7],"class_list":["post-264","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fiction","tag-8","tag-fiction"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web1.unine.ch\/new\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/264","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web1.unine.ch\/new\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web1.unine.ch\/new\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web1.unine.ch\/new\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web1.unine.ch\/new\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=264"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/web1.unine.ch\/new\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/264\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":285,"href":"https:\/\/web1.unine.ch\/new\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/264\/revisions\/285"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web1.unine.ch\/new\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=264"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web1.unine.ch\/new\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=264"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web1.unine.ch\/new\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=264"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}