The Chronicles of Decay

The Water Stain

- So, what do you do?

- I fuck - I answered, looking at the little table beside the bed. We were in silence for some minutes while I was lost in thoughts, looking at a water stain left in the wood by a glass that was put over there.

- No, I meant what do you work with.

- I'm a writer.

- Really? She laughed. The stain formed almost a perfect circle, with but a single flaw that had already dried. The image made me remember that of the Ouroboros, the snake which eats it's own tail, the Eternal Return symbol.

- Yeah.

- What do you write about?

- Existence in a general way.

- Really?

- Yeah.

- I wonder if I'm going to appear in one of your stories.

- That depends.

- Of what?

- If you're an interesting person.

- Nevermind then - I turned in bed. The sheet covered her waist but let out her nice pink breasts, which still showed the marks of my teeth. I took a joint from my pack of smokes, lit it and pulled the smoke.

- Why do you say that?

- My life's not interesting.

- Hookers are very interesting.

- You think?

- You don't?

- My life is boring.

- What would you do if you weren't a whore? - I blew the smoke, breathing a couple of times before pulling it again.

- When I was younger I wanted to be an architect. But my dad said I was too pretty to work.

- Lucky you.

- Luck?! Fuck you - she got pissed - you think getting paid to give your ass to the whole city is luck?

- Whores are important - I said, blowing the smoke while I looked at my dick - when a place has no whores the numbers of rape increases. Your ass must have saved a lot of lives.

- Oh, I feel humbled! - she said with irony.

- Don't feel - I sucked the smoke - the world is what it is - I said and then passed the joint for her while holding the smoke. She sucked it long and held for some time, looking at the ceiling as if she was lost in thought. She sucked it two more times before giving back the joint to me and continue to speak:

- No... The world could be a different place - she said.

- How?

- I don't know... The human being could solve some problems... We already have resources to do that.

- Humans never solve shit - I said, exhaling the smoke - they just keep running around and never get anywhere. And then it starts all over again - I looked again to the stain at the table.

- What do you mean? We cured so many diseases... Cancer, AIDS treatment... Sure, there's not actually a cure... And you gotta have a lot of money... But I don't like even to imagine how it must have been in different times.

- Sure we did - I sat in the bed - we got rid of the plage, ebola, pneumonia, tuberculosis, cancer, aids and child paralysis. But then we created depression, anxiety, stress, panic attacks, eating disorders, personality disorders and the whole fucking DSM. From those illnesses not even the rich can escape. Not without a shitload of drugs. The only difference their drugs are legalized and appear on TV commercials.

- What?

- Antidepressants and anxiety pills, my dear. One in the morning, another one to sleep. That shit's more addictive than crack.

- Vanessa.

- What?

- My name. Is Vanessa. And the joint went out.

- Shit - I took the lighter from the bed and lit it again, sucking on it.

- Shit? Is that your name?

- No, that's the name of what's inside my head. My name's David.

- My pleasure.

- For real?

- Do you really wanna know?

- What I want is to sleep - I sucked hard on the joint and passed to her - that shit always fucks me up.

- You still got half a hour.

- Vanessa... I got all the time in the world.