The land of green plums

When we don't speak, said Edgar, we become unbearable, and when we do, we make fools of ourselves. We had been sitting and staring at the pictures on the floor for too long. My legs had fallen asleep from sitting.

The words in our mouths do as much damage as our feet on the grass. But so do our silences. Edgar was silent.

To this day, I can't really picture a grave. Only a belt, a window, a nut, and a rope. To me, each death is like a sack. Anyone who hears that, said Edgar, is bound to think you've lost your mind.


And then, I have the feeling that whenever someone dies he leaves behind a sack of words. And barbers, and nail- clippers - I always think of them, too, since the dead no longer need them. And they don't ever lose buttons either.

Maybe they sensed the dictator was a mistake in a different way than we did, said Edgar. They had proof enough, because even we considered ourselves a mistake. Because in this country, we had to walk, eat, sleep, and love in fear, until it was once again time for the barber and nail-clippers.

(Translated from German by Michael Hoffman)