Saturday, January 23, 2016

Home


Some dark clouds was approaching. Rain swung over a spot on the horizon. But we could see our house up ahead.
-Soon we`re home, I said.
-Dayapp, he said.
-Where in the world have you been, my wife asked.
-In the forest, I replied.
-Yes, but those walks of yours take some serious time, she said. -Was there any vipers in there?
-Vipers? No, there was no vipers to see, I said.
-So, everything is well, then?
-Sure, everything is well. But can you take him a bit? I need to work with the woodshed.
I lurked him out of the child carrier and lifted him out of it. He opened and closed his arms around his mother. She turned around and rushed into the house.

The woodshed. It was only half finished. It took longer than expected to build it. I believed it would be easy. But after a while, as I put up a post here and nailed a plank there, I found out that I needed to change the plan. And it was not that easy at all.
But it needed to finish soon. Cause around me was a big pile of half finished fire wood. And it didn't like the rain coming. I had stretched a tarpaulin over it. But it was full of holes after weather and winds. So then the water leaked into the holes. And the tarpaulin prevented the water to evaporate. Which was no good for the fire wood that needed to get dry. So. The woodshed needed to be finished soon. I nailed a plank in an angle out from the garage wall. I guessed it would secure the woodshed better.  The sound of the hammer echoed into the forest. I nailed more planks in the same angle. That would ensure the woodshed even more. I put up new planks the other way. That would make it even safer.
I sat down on a stump and picked up the phone. There was still some left on the battery. I opened the browser, found the address of a newspaper. The browser opened an image and a header.
I tossed up.-What the hell, I said. I ran into the house. -Put on the telly, I shouted. -What is it, my wife asked from the kitchen. The little lad was sitting in his chair in the living room with a clean diaper, new clothes, a sandwich and a cup of milk. -Put on the telly, I shouted again. But I didn't wait for her. I jumped over to the telly myself.
My wife approached. She had a plate and a kitchen towel in her hands. She looked into the current image of the telly.
-My God, she said.


Saturday, January 9, 2016

The telephone


Suddenly the phone screamed. The little lad jumped slightly as he stood and studied a stump. I was studying some dead birch over me when the sound cut through the air. The phone had only one mark left in the battery. And now it laid in the heather and sputtered as a rat.
I looked down at it. Then I realised and picked it up.
-Hello, I said.
-Yes, hello. This is from The Bureau of Poison Control, a man said in the phone. -Are you the one who sent one image of a mushroom?
-Eh, yes, that was me, I said.
-Yes, the fungus, yes. It sure is an early one, this time of year. But it sure is a mushroom. Yes. We are several people here at the bureau who have studied the image carefully. And out of the image, if the light of the image makes our conclusion correct, we mean that this is a peppery bolete. It is not counted to be an edible fungi, and it has a very strong taste. So it`s a little wonder that the lad managed to swallow it. It even smell quite strongly. So, yes, it`s a little wonder. Maybe if it has been much rain where you are, then maybe the taste is a little diluted.
-But is it toxic, I asked fast.
-No, that is, it`s not an edible fungi. But it`s not directly dangerous to eat, so...
-So it`s not toxic?
-No, it`s not. That is again, if the light of the image makes our conclusion correct...but when I look at the image, then I...yes, no,... I can say for sure that this is a peppery bolete...yes I can.
I breathed out slowly.
-OK, thank you so much, I said.
-All right. Please contact me again if there is something more, he said.

I turned off and looked down at the lad. He sat and drew his hand over some cranberry heather.
-What do you say? Shall we go home, I asked.
He looked up at me.
-Dayapp, he replied.


Sunday, January 3, 2016

Waiting



I glanced at the phone. No one had made a call. And the battery of the phone would soon get empty.
I touched myself. Yes, it was different on one side. Actually, it was something different on one foot too. And one arm. The hand and it`s fingers felt numb. And one side of my head. It felt like it was different than the other side. On one of the eyes, the forest was dark and odd. On the second eye not quite so. So, in other words, my health could be really serious bad.
And those paper notes. Those strange messages. What the heck was that? Were they meant for me? Was there someone who would tell me something? Or was it only me who started to become crazy?
I looked at the lad. The little one went around and glanced at the heather and undergrowth. He sang and chatted with himself. Found a stick. Tasted it a bit. Waved around with it in the air.
So, yes. What should I do? What if the battery on the phone got empty? What if the Bureau of Poison Control  could not call me? And Here I was, far away into the forest with a small boy who had eaten an unidentified mushroom. And I had no food around here. And in this forest that was so strange and dark. At least in one of my eye.
I glanced at my phone again. The battery was even weaker. Not much left.