the town with no name

busing through ethiopia. rural town. a town with no name. brown. dusty. innocent and ignorant. pinkies are rare sightings here. as are quality tach's. twilight. bus breaks down. flat tire. someone spots us sitting by the window. a crowd gathers. wide eyed. gaping mouths. finger pointing. 10mins. 20mins. 25mins. the crowd expands. milling around. confusion and excitement fills the air outside the bus.

the light fades. electricity is rare in these parts. minimal lighting. darkness falls over the town like one of dopey's "moods". miguel cracks a glowstick. lumo green. super lumo green. sends it hurtling out of the window into the night sky. end over end. s-l-o-w m-o-t-i-o-n.

a defeaning silence explodes over the town. all eyes fix on the glowing alien object looping through the night. the crowd parts. the glowstick thuds into the dust. green particles thrown into the air. momentary freeze. uncertainty.

someone makes a move. ruckus. diving. and kicking. and tugging. and screaming. tangled shadows wrestle on the floor. the green blinking. then darkness. silence. the glowstick zigzags away in mid-air disappearing into the night. disappointment is everywhere. loud cursing and hollering breaks out. crying. sobbing.

then gasps. the glowstick is spotted. waving from the top of the tallest building in town. two stories up. like a signal from the gods. a beacon of lost innocence. a material idol. the highest truth. the crowd rushes off to hunt the treasure down. wild eyes. crazed expressions. beasts of their own desire.

the bus pulls off. leaving one dude with twelve hours of fun. and a town with a lifetime of furious longing and heartache. and a community divided forever.