Husna Sinu
In the scorching heat of noon, the sun pierced straight down. His throat was so dry that every part of his body could feel it. Trembling, each time he placed a foot on the ground, it felt as though he was sinking into the very depths of the earth. With every step he took, his sunken eyes kept searching around him.
When he saw a shop in the distance, his mind felt slightly relieved. He hurried toward it, yet his legs felt as if his own body had become a heavy burden. The shop was quite crowded at that moment.
Driven by hunger, his stomach had shrunk inward. Rubbing his hollow belly, he showed his yellow-stained teeth and repeatedly asked if someone could give him something to eat.
No one even bothered to turn and look at him. Everyone was busy eating the food they had, satisfying their own hunger. Some, dissatisfied with what they had received, threw their leftovers into the garbage bin lying beside the wall.
He glanced around, pulled up his torn pants, and stretched his hand toward the shop again. The shopkeeper burst into laughter, holding out a cup of hot water toward him, and said mockingly:
“Get out of here quickly! Otherwise I’ll pour boiling water on you right now!”
Frightened and trembling, he sat beside the garbage. He glanced at the dog sitting across from him. People coming and going were giving the dog enough food to eat.
Unable to bear his hunger any longer, he suddenly noticed a bun wrapped in paper on the table in front of him. Slowly he got up, went there, took the packet, and walked away. He gently opened it and was about to put a piece into his mouth when the first blow landed on his head.
He could sense a crowd gathering around him, and his eyes felt as though they were closing.
“He’s a thief!” someone shouted from the crowd.
“Beat him!” another voice said. At that moment, someone kicked him twice. It felt as though the earth itself had split open, and he collapsed onto the ground.
His whole body trembled as each blow struck him, while they kept shouting “thief” again and again. Even as he drew his final breath, they were laughing loudly.
When his bones lay crushed and lifeless on the ground, the piece of bun he had longed to eat was still with him-clutched tightly in his hand, held firmly without letting go.
