The Fence

The little boy wanted to go to the other side of the fence. It was a barbed wire fence. On the other side of the fence lived his friend. Both the countries jointly put the barbed wire fence to prevent people’s movement across the border.

The boy didn’t know that they’d passed electricity through the wires.

The boy had a goat with him. He held it in his small arms. His arms were wet with sweat. The goat licked his arms. The boy stood in the open area. He could see the fence ahead of him. He looked around. He looked up at the sky.

Despite the patches of clouds, the sky was clear. There was none around. He felt happy.

He placed the goat on the ground and said, “You stay here. I’ll cross the fence, meet my friend, and come back soon.”

The goat started eating the fresh grass and leaves from the short plants. On both the sides of the fence, the grass looked the same.

“You mean you want to cross the fence?”

The boy got started and looked back.

An old man stood behind him with his goats. The old man was short, but his wrists were thick. He wore a dhoti and a vest. He had a cane stick in his hand.

“No,” the boy said.

“Our enemies live there.”

“I’ve a friend there.”

“Who is your friend?”

“My best friend.”

“You mean you’ve a best friend in our enemy country?”

“My friend didn’t want to go to that country.”

“Then why did he go?”

“His parents forced him. He wept a lot.”

“Do you know where he stays in our enemy country?”

“On the other side of the fence.”

“Is it?”

“Yes. He told me before he’d left.”

The old man didn’t say anything. He looked at his goats. Now all the goats were roaming here and there, eating grass and round leaves.

“We had freedom before the fence was constructed. We could go to their country easily.”

“Then why they constructed the fence?” the boy asked.

The old man thought for a while and said, “Maybe they don’t want us to enter their country.”

The boy looked sad and said, “This means I’ll never be able to see my friend.”

“You shouldn’t go to that side.”

“Why?”

“They’ve forces deployed on their other side.” 

“Are they so powerful?”

“Yes, they’re so powerful.”

“Why can’t we be so powerful like them?”

“We are a poor country,” the old man said and raised his thick eyebrows.

“Is their army cruel?”

“Yes. I heard they are very cruel. When they catch people from our country, they butcher them into pieces.”

“Why don’t we have a strong army?”

“We are poor.”

“Grandpa, I’ll join our army one day.”

The old man looked at the boy and smiled. His teeth were stained with nicotine. 

The boy’s goat bleated from a distance. Then all the goats started bleating. One of them pooped.

What’d happen to him if he crossed the fence? He hadn’t told anyone that he was going to cross the fence. His heart started pumping fast with fear. They were sitting too close to the fence. He felt sweat surface on his forehead. He must return home fast with the goat.

“When will you return home, Grandpa?”

“We’ve to return home soon. Look up at the sky.”

The boy looked up at the sky. Where had those thick clouds come from?

“Storm will come today,” the old man said.

Suddenly it began to thunder. Lightning struck something nearby. They ran towards their goats. The boy picked up his little goat. It started drizzling.

In the open area was a small hut. It had no walls, but only a roof made from straw. They ran to take shelter of the hut. The rain began to bucket down. The boy held the goat tight in his arms.

“I like the smell of the earth when it rains,” the old man said.

The boy didn’t say anything. He remembered his mom.

Now the storm broke. Rain hit them. They got drenched. The boy felt the movement of the soft chest of the goat in his palms. It seemed that the storm tried to blow them away. Suddenly the boy heard a tree fall. Had lightning struck the tree? Had the storm uprooted it?  

“It’s thundering like anything. Put your hands on ears,” the old man said, shouting aloud. 

The boy put one hand on his ear and the other hand on the goat’s.Then they heard a sound, which was extremely intense and shrill. Terrified, they opened their eyes.A huge tree had fallen on the fence, and the fence had broken.

“How long will they take to repair the fence?” the boy asked.

“Maybe one week. Maybe two weeks,”the old man said.

The boy smiled.