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Written: Jamal Almudafer
Translated : Said Alwaely
Date: 01 / 01 / 2007
The Dialogue of the Chopped Head
Short Story
Introduction:
This is a real story that took place in Iraq caused by
the violent acts, which whipped out hundreds of
innocents, when the criminals killed the father then cut
a hole in his chest and cut his son's head and placed it
inside his chest. And by the father's cadaver in the
morgue was the cadaver of a young woman who they killed
and plucked her eyes and screwed them to her hands.
These were the most horrible crimes in humanity.
* * * * * * *
A map of frozen blood painted on the floor of the
morgue, identical to the distribution of the land areas
and the oceans on the surface of the earth. And in that
corner are fruit boxes with hidden heads chopped from
their bodies, except for the son's small head that is
hidden in his father's chest, when the criminals killed
his father then cut a hole in his chest and cut the
son's head and stuffed it inside his father's chest.
The cadaver was laid on the morgue's floor; the morgue
could no longer handle the large amount of innocents
that were killed in different ways. Some of them were
drilled by the electric driller before they were killed,
some without heads, and some stabbed in many different
places. The son's eyes watch the never seen before place
warily, the electric tools, axes, screwdrivers, sharp
knives, and so many other tools used in judicial
medicine.
Two eyes lurk the place clockwise until they reach the
eyes screwed to the girl's hands. Her eyes were
glittering, like a car's lights. The boy's head was
cautious; the girl might take his place in his father's
chest, as do other woman that cause family problems
because of jealousy. The head said, "I never felt a day
like this warm that contains me. How wide is your heart
my father? This heart that I see is the size of my palm.
This heart that accommodated all of my mother's
foolishness, but why did you tell me you didn't have any
money when I asked to buy candy? Here is a lot of money.
You are not churl, my father, but you just wanted to
spend your money wisely, I'm joking." He looked back to
the left. The girl's eyes were looking straight ahead at
him strangely. The head hid itself inside the hole to
keep the girl from taking his place. "Oh father, were
there any other women in your life other then my mother?
Oh if she knew, she would have turned your life into
hell. She is very angry, but kind hearted. And when she
calms down she tries to apologies or to do other things
to let you know that she regrets." The head tried to
lurk what's around him. He turned his eyes in a circular
motion searching the whole place and pauses his eyes on
the girl's cadaver. Her eyes were looking straight ahead
the whole time. "I'll never leave my father for you to
take over him. I'll stay glued to him forever. The
criminals will return to take your gray eyes. But I'll
return with my father to my mother. She is preparing
diner for us and the hungry people. For I see the
visitors have filled our house."
The morgue workers entered to take the cadavers. The
son's head felt that the cadavers will be moved to a
different place and perhaps, they might place him away
from his father. He slowly hid himself deeper and deeper
in the body from the workers sight. But one of the
workers noticed the missing head that used to be in the
father's body. Someone must have stolen the head and
maybe there is a secret in its disappearing. The workers
got busy looking for the missing head in the morgue.
There is a missing head in the morgue, the head that
became the conversation among the people and the
judicial medicine. And maybe even the old man that
worked in the judicial medicine ever since youth, has
never seen such a disgusting view like the one he saw
yesterday: A chopped head inside an opened chest
cadaver. Everyone searches for the head afraid of the
news spreading among the people, the workers, the
doctors, the manager, and the minister.
They took the cadavers in coffins to bury in the
Alshaykh Mairouf Graveyard. Over 200 cadavers, but there
was a missing head. Where did that head disappear!? They
stacked the coffins as if they were merchandise unloaded
from a harbor. Who ever saw those stacked coffins never
thought that they were actually cadavers.
The son's head whispered in the end of his father's ear
from inside, "If they ask you about me, tell them that I
left and never returned, or that thieves kidnapped me
and you are to go report me missing. But you are to tell
my mother that I'm with you so she won't worry about my
kidnapping, or perhaps, she might reveal the secret
because women can't keep secrets like she taught me, as
they always speak what's in their heart."
The truck containing the coffins passed through the
capital city's streets. The people look at the
merchandise dripping blood, not knowing what the truck
contains. The sun was shining vertically on the city.
The people were hiding in the bus stop stations, others
had newspapers on their heads, and some stood under the
shade of the electricity pole. The truck turned toward
the hunch backed bridge, which held itself on its two
arms over the Tigris River.
There are heads falling in the river. The sky is raining
heads. There are no clouds, no signs of other living
creatures, and no UFO's dropping those heads. The
child's head whispered again in his father's ear, "look,
my father, there are heads falling in the river,
identical to the balls we play with, but with eyes,
ears, noses, and mouths. They are not balls… heads…
heads…" And finally, the father said, "Balls… balls…"
the child responded, "Heads… heads…" and the whispering
began between the father and the child's head:
"Heads…balls… heads… balls… heads… balls… hea… bal… he…
ba…h...b…
The sky is raining harder and harder… the heads are
falling on the city, forming huge waves in the river,
huger and huger. Abnormal movement, more and more waves,
the water level increases, the river is irritating,
god's anger… god's anger… Some people race home, some
hide in underground sanctuaries, and some in nearby
stores, scared of the falling heads and the starting
tsunami… It is the deluge… the city started to drown…
the water color was deep red like the frozen blood on
the morgue's floor …
The heads are still falling harder and harder on the
city... they are now forming sky scrapers… Those smashed
heads, which are identical to flat balls, blocked the
sunlight from the city… the singing echo fills the sky…
"heads… balls… heads… balls… hbeadlsls…
heeeeeeeeeeaddddsss… the son's head hid deeper and
melted in all the space of the father's body and got
lost with the crowded heads that fell on the city in a
non-winter day. There is no longer a missing head.
* * * * * * *
Jamal Almudafer
was born in Iraq on 1958. He is a member of The Iraqi
Journalist and Writers, the Arab Journalist Union, and
the League of Iraqi Fonts. He was the Editor-in-Chief of
the Souawt Altimem Newspaper. He has four collections of
books ready for publishing: Ajnehat ahkhfafeesh
(stories), moden tefuth bekaret aljoudran (Poetry),
politic and literature Essays, and love and Lisle poems.
Websites:
www.tahayati.com
www.iraqen.net
www.SaidWaely.com
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