Village
Content
Andy parts his orange hair to the left. Andy has blue eyes, he wears glasses which he bought in his twenty-ninth year. Andy’s nose curves up, the top lip reaches above his front teeth. Andy wears a tan suit he bought at J.C. Penny’s. The tie he wears has geometric designs, and muted colors. The tie was given to him as a gift for his service as a “terrific” number cruncher. He’s been wearing the same black shoes for five years, every year he replaces the sole. Andy revisits the doctor, and the results of the tests tell him that he has lung cancer. The doctor says Andy has less than six months to live. Andy goes about his business as usual, he tells no one of his plight. No one notices Andy's cough. His only companion is his dog, Brenda, and even to her he does not tell of his sickness. "The Bucket List" is on television. Andy writes a list of things he wants to do before he dies. Andy walks onto his apartment terrace, the screens float above him; a computer-generated Joel McHale speaks in a monotone voice: See the world. Smile at a stranger. Open the door for someone else. Stop and smell the roses. Enjoy today, you never know what it will bring. Say yes. Do what your heart tells you. Keep hold of your dreams, never let them go. Exercise for ten minutes, three times a day. Eat more vegetables. Eat more fruits. Life is short, stay awake for it. Go for it. Be the best you can be. The first thing that Andy writes down on his list is: Take a road trip to a destination you've never been to before. One morning Andy visits the bank, he closes his account, and receives his entire life sum of money. Andy leaves Brenda behind. During a ride through the mountains Andy stops the car to take a photograph of the scenic landscape. The car’s brakes fail, and slowly the automobile drifts towards the edge of the cliff. The car falls over the cliff, it smashes to pieces as it hits the ground, nine miles down. Andy snaps the picture, he turns around only to notice his car is missing.
While trekking up the hill towards the top, a woman stops her car and asks Andy if he would care for a lift. The woman introduces herself as Linda, and takes Andy to the top of the mountain, into a small village where they stop. Laura remembered a time, when in her twenties, she believed in love; mutual respect, admiration, romance. It was in that time she searched for “love.” Yet she was a seed which had not flowered, an innocent girl who idealized romance. Currently Laura is thirty-nine, and is going through her third divorce. Laura is optimistic about the future because she is not at work, her job and daily duties are on hold, she is on a personal vacation. Laura’s lawyer advised her not to take a vacation. Textile arts was something that Laura became fascinated with in her youth, but over time her interests spread to apart to other ventures. Laura began to make clothes, not only for herself but for people she knew. She read about village women from Peru who made their living weaving bags. Despite reading about these women from sites on the internet, Laura wanted to see them first hand. She needed to visit the land where such fabrics were cultivated into three-dimensional objects of worth. The woman needed something different in her life. Traveling alone, Laura took a flight to Peru. On the plane she read the book, Eat, Pray, Love. Laura wanted the same adventure, she identified with the woman and her situation. Upon landing in Peru, Laura was robbed – someone stole her luggage that carried all her garments. After getting in a taxi and checking into her hotel, Laura was lead to a local clothing shop. She bought a few necessities, and a nice dress that she wore to a restaurant that night. The restaurant was busy. Laura looked around the restaurant and admired all of the faces she saw. In her journal she wrote down her present journey, including all of her thoughts, feelings and memories. An older man saw her sitting alone, and invited himself to her table. Laura did not object to his company, she was eager to become
enthralled in an interesting conversation with a stranger in a new land. The older man introduced himself as Harry, and was obviously drunk. Harry’s concentration was specifically on Laura’s thighs and breasts. Despite his regal appearance, a distasteful lewdness appeared much too quickly for Laura’s preference. Laura politely asked Harry to leave her table, but he refused, and began to fondle the inside of Laura’s thighs. She slapped him in the face, telling Harry to leave immediately. Drawing attention to herself, the waiter asked Laura if everything was all right. “Harry was just leaving,” she said, and Harry disappeared into the bar. No one else came to her side the entire night beside the check. The next day, taking her rental car through the village, Laura shopped at all of the stores. Eventually Laura found her way to Mitjanit, a small town at the top of a hill – some twenty miles away from town. On her way to Mitajnit, Laura spotted several women waiting at a bus stop on the side of the road. At the bus stop the women were weaving bags and garments from handmade cloth. Laura stopped by the side of the road and approached the village women. Laura spoke some Spanish, but her mere visual, hand-gestured expressions told the women all they needed to know. Before she knew it Laura was standing beside a tree, weaving together a portion of garment. Laura got the hang of it, she was doing well by them. Later on, when the bus arrived, one of the women gave Laura a small handbag as a gift. Continuing on the road toward the town on the hill, Laura came across a man standing alone near the edge of a cliff. Laura drove past him, but reversed her car and picked him up. The man introduced himself as Andy, and together Laura and Andy drove to the top of the hill, towards Mitjanit. Ray, a rancher from Markuled, came to Mitjanit because he needed to buy wool. Now, this rancher could have bought wool from his neighbor – Hector – but Ray is not here simply for the wool. Ray is here for the Julia, the young woman that sells the wool. Ray is married, but his wife is dying, everyone knows this. After Ray speaks with Julia, some friends persuade the rancher to have
a drink: Albert has just won two horses and two cows in a bet, Let’s have a toast to fate! Ray, exuberant from his talk with the young and fresh Julia, accepts to a drink. The men drink all night long, and past the point of correct judgment they begin a contest of stamina. The drinking goes on into the morning. Some men fall, others continue the drinking contest on through another day. During this contest of stamina, Ray confesses his love affair with Julia, the young wool seller. Julia’s father, a straggling member of this contest, becomes infuriated at this news but he does not reveal his name. As the morning sunrise turns ten o’clock, Andy turns a corner in Mitjanit and nearly trips over the body of a man wading in a puddle of piss and puke. As Laura finishes up her purchase of wool from Julia, Andy approaches. He asks Laura if he can accompany her to wherever she goes to next. Laura agrees. Laura receives a page from an unknown number. They stop at a gas station where Laura makes the call. Her sister has just given birth to a baby boy, six pounds & eight ounces. Laura is sorry she wasn’t there, the boy came early. Andy steals Laura’s car, she is stranded at the gas station. Along the way Andy trades cars, and he continues driving. Andy stops at a strip club and spends his time alone, he gets sufficiently drunk and watches naked women dance. Occasionally Andy pays for the women to give him a lap dance. Later that night Andy finds himself on the edge of a bar, sipping on the umpteenth drink of that particular phase, talking to a woman whom he deems attractive. Andy takes the woman back to her motel room. He asks the woman what she would do in his situation, and she says to do whatever it is you’ve always wanted to do. Andy replies that he’s never wanted anything. She asks, “have you ever wanted to visit any place?” Andy says, “not really.”
She insists Andy should stay there with her, he doesn’t object. The next day she introduces Andy to her nine-year old son. Three months into their relationship, the woman feels the onsets of pregnancy. Having spent all of monetary resources, Andy is broke, and she tells him to get a job. Andy gets a job at a factory that produces tin cans. On Thursday Andy notices his cough once again. On Friday the cough continues to become rougher through Monday, and onto Tuesday. She insists Andy see a doctor. Andy visits the doctor’s office, but leaves before his appointment. Andy drives out of town, and he gets on the highway, he continues driving.
While trekking up the hill towards the top, a woman stops her car and asks Andy if he would care for a lift. The woman introduces herself as Linda, and takes Andy to the top of the mountain, into a small village where they stop. Laura remembered a time, when in her twenties, she believed in love; mutual respect, admiration, romance. It was in that time she searched for “love.” Yet she was a seed which had not flowered, an innocent girl who idealized romance. Currently Laura is thirty-nine, and is going through her third divorce. Laura is optimistic about the future because she is not at work, her job and daily duties are on hold, she is on a personal vacation. Laura’s lawyer advised her not to take a vacation. Textile arts was something that Laura became fascinated with in her youth, but over time her interests spread to apart to other ventures. Laura began to make clothes, not only for herself but for people she knew. She read about village women from Peru who made their living weaving bags. Despite reading about these women from sites on the internet, Laura wanted to see them first hand. She needed to visit the land where such fabrics were cultivated into three-dimensional objects of worth. The woman needed something different in her life. Traveling alone, Laura took a flight to Peru. On the plane she read the book, Eat, Pray, Love. Laura wanted the same adventure, she identified with the woman and her situation. Upon landing in Peru, Laura was robbed – someone stole her luggage that carried all her garments. After getting in a taxi and checking into her hotel, Laura was lead to a local clothing shop. She bought a few necessities, and a nice dress that she wore to a restaurant that night. The restaurant was busy. Laura looked around the restaurant and admired all of the faces she saw. In her journal she wrote down her present journey, including all of her thoughts, feelings and memories. An older man saw her sitting alone, and invited himself to her table. Laura did not object to his company, she was eager to become
enthralled in an interesting conversation with a stranger in a new land. The older man introduced himself as Harry, and was obviously drunk. Harry’s concentration was specifically on Laura’s thighs and breasts. Despite his regal appearance, a distasteful lewdness appeared much too quickly for Laura’s preference. Laura politely asked Harry to leave her table, but he refused, and began to fondle the inside of Laura’s thighs. She slapped him in the face, telling Harry to leave immediately. Drawing attention to herself, the waiter asked Laura if everything was all right. “Harry was just leaving,” she said, and Harry disappeared into the bar. No one else came to her side the entire night beside the check. The next day, taking her rental car through the village, Laura shopped at all of the stores. Eventually Laura found her way to Mitjanit, a small town at the top of a hill – some twenty miles away from town. On her way to Mitajnit, Laura spotted several women waiting at a bus stop on the side of the road. At the bus stop the women were weaving bags and garments from handmade cloth. Laura stopped by the side of the road and approached the village women. Laura spoke some Spanish, but her mere visual, hand-gestured expressions told the women all they needed to know. Before she knew it Laura was standing beside a tree, weaving together a portion of garment. Laura got the hang of it, she was doing well by them. Later on, when the bus arrived, one of the women gave Laura a small handbag as a gift. Continuing on the road toward the town on the hill, Laura came across a man standing alone near the edge of a cliff. Laura drove past him, but reversed her car and picked him up. The man introduced himself as Andy, and together Laura and Andy drove to the top of the hill, towards Mitjanit. Ray, a rancher from Markuled, came to Mitjanit because he needed to buy wool. Now, this rancher could have bought wool from his neighbor – Hector – but Ray is not here simply for the wool. Ray is here for the Julia, the young woman that sells the wool. Ray is married, but his wife is dying, everyone knows this. After Ray speaks with Julia, some friends persuade the rancher to have
a drink: Albert has just won two horses and two cows in a bet, Let’s have a toast to fate! Ray, exuberant from his talk with the young and fresh Julia, accepts to a drink. The men drink all night long, and past the point of correct judgment they begin a contest of stamina. The drinking goes on into the morning. Some men fall, others continue the drinking contest on through another day. During this contest of stamina, Ray confesses his love affair with Julia, the young wool seller. Julia’s father, a straggling member of this contest, becomes infuriated at this news but he does not reveal his name. As the morning sunrise turns ten o’clock, Andy turns a corner in Mitjanit and nearly trips over the body of a man wading in a puddle of piss and puke. As Laura finishes up her purchase of wool from Julia, Andy approaches. He asks Laura if he can accompany her to wherever she goes to next. Laura agrees. Laura receives a page from an unknown number. They stop at a gas station where Laura makes the call. Her sister has just given birth to a baby boy, six pounds & eight ounces. Laura is sorry she wasn’t there, the boy came early. Andy steals Laura’s car, she is stranded at the gas station. Along the way Andy trades cars, and he continues driving. Andy stops at a strip club and spends his time alone, he gets sufficiently drunk and watches naked women dance. Occasionally Andy pays for the women to give him a lap dance. Later that night Andy finds himself on the edge of a bar, sipping on the umpteenth drink of that particular phase, talking to a woman whom he deems attractive. Andy takes the woman back to her motel room. He asks the woman what she would do in his situation, and she says to do whatever it is you’ve always wanted to do. Andy replies that he’s never wanted anything. She asks, “have you ever wanted to visit any place?” Andy says, “not really.”
She insists Andy should stay there with her, he doesn’t object. The next day she introduces Andy to her nine-year old son. Three months into their relationship, the woman feels the onsets of pregnancy. Having spent all of monetary resources, Andy is broke, and she tells him to get a job. Andy gets a job at a factory that produces tin cans. On Thursday Andy notices his cough once again. On Friday the cough continues to become rougher through Monday, and onto Tuesday. She insists Andy see a doctor. Andy visits the doctor’s office, but leaves before his appointment. Andy drives out of town, and he gets on the highway, he continues driving.
