Country Life"

 

Chapter I

It was a perfectly ordinary day. It was already evening, actually. The streets were already dark. Older people sat in their homes watching TV, young people were lounging about, smoking and drinking, and the kids were sleeping soundly in bed. There was no indication that anything unusual was about to happen. Marcin and his friends – Tomek and Artur – were sitting on the steps in front of the bar, drinking Reds, when suddenly an older man, around 70, approached them and said something they didn't understand. As if in some strange foreign language. The friends looked at each other, then at the old man, who repeated the same thing, just as incomprehensibly. Marcin got angry because he had just run out of Reds and handed it to the old man,

"What the fuck do you want? Are you looking for some fucking friends?"

The old man seemed to understand. He raised his hand and offered a leaf to Marcin. Tomek and Artur tried to defend their friend, but they couldn't make a move. A few moments later, a black Aston Martin pulled up to the bar and scooped up all four of them.

The old man spoke first in the car.

"You, what's your name?

" "What the fuck do you care?"

(slap, the old man handed Marcin another strong leaf. Tomek and Artur remained motionless)

"You'll answer my questions nicely, and without swearing. So, what's your name?"

"I'm Marcin.

" "Okay. Well, listen. I don't want you calling me "fuju," or you'll get punched. Got it?

" "Well...

" "Now, introduce me to your friends

," Artur and Tomek

said. "Okay. Well, listen, all three of you. You've been selected for a mission. You must go to Poland and report on what's happening there, as we lost contact with them some time ago. And since you three were born in Poland, you can enter without any additional checks."

"And what if we don't agree?"

(The old man raises his hand)

"Okay, we agree.

" "Fine. Now we're going to the Polish border. If they ask you why you're going there, say you're going to meet your parents after recently finishing school abroad. You have phones you can use anywhere in the world. You have free text messages, multimedia messages, and calls, so I'm counting on frequent and accurate reports from home. Okay. Now eat something and get some rest."

Chapter II

The car slowly came to a stop. When Marcin woke up, Artur was still asleep, and Tomek was texting with his friends. The old man was gone. Marcin started a conversation.

"Well, we certainly have something to do. Did you notice, did the old man leave us any information or something?"

Tomek nodded and pointed to three backpacks. Marcin looked into the backpack closest to his. There he found a laptop, a wallet with a rather large amount of money, and a packed lunch.

"And there are no cards? No information?"

Tomek pointed to his cell phone this time. Marcin took his phone and turned it on. "7 messages received"… "Show"… The description of their mission reached him.

"You'll be dropped off at the border in Cieszyn, you have to photograph everything you can and send it to me. You have my number saved in your phone contacts under the name M48. I wish you luck, and I look forward to hearing from you."

"Well, that's great," Marcin concluded.

Now he had a chance to take a closer look at his phone. A Nokia 9500, with a 2GB memory card. Absolutely fantastic.

"What if the phone gets stolen?

" "Everyone got four of them, look in their backpack.

" "Not bad…"

Artur just woke up.

"Hey, mate!" Marcin greeted him. "How did you sleep?"

"I'm not complaining, I had a bit of a strange dream, we were kidnapped by a black Aston Martin and sent to Poland

." "I'm sorry. It wasn't a dream." We're almost in Poland," Tomek told him. "Take a closer look at the phone, it has our master's details on it."

The car stopped. The door opened and he peered into the three M48s.

"Get out, we're here. Your mission is just beginning. Good luck, and I'm waiting for the data. Don't forget your phones and backpacks!"

Marcin, Artur, and Tomek got out of the Aston Martin, put on their backpacks, put their phones away, and approached the customs gate.

"Welcome to Poland! I'd like your documents, please. "

Chapter III

"Oh FUCK!" Artur exclaimed.

"I think so too," Tomek added

. Marcin just looked around. For the first time in their lives, they found themselves in a place they were completely unfamiliar with, with no idea where to go, with a lot of cash, and the latest phones.

"Come here, there's a map!" Marcin said to his friends.

They approached it but found nothing of any use.

"You know what?" I guess we just have to start a new life here, from scratch," Artur said with a little regret. "But we have to find a good hotel, we have enough money."

So they started looking for hotels on the map. Suddenly, Tomek had a brilliant idea.

"Guys! I know what we'll do! My grandma lives in the middle of nowhere, in this country, in Łaziska Górne. We'll go there and maybe live there!"

Marcin and Artur agreed.

Chapter IV

"Okay, so where exactly is this apartment?" Marcin asked

. "Pocztowa 2b/4," Tomek replied

. "Do you know where it is?"

"No."

Artur approached the first man he met and asked,

"Excuse me, where is Pocztowa 2 Street?

" "Near the post office. Go straight here, then turn right after the post office. That's post office street.

" "Thank you."

Artur returned to his friends.

"Let's go, guys!"

And they set off in the direction the other guy had indicated.

"Now all we have to do is find 2b/4..." Marcin said. "Ooo... I see 2a, there should be 2b somewhere around here...

" "Okay, mom, it's back here," Tomek replied. "Come on."

They approached the intercom. The Kowalski family lived in number 4.

"Tomek, are you sure it's your family?" Artur asked.

"I don't know, I'll check right away," Tomek replied and rang

. A quiet voice came from the speaker.

"Yes, I'm listening?

" "This is Tomek Jaskrzyk speaking

." "Ah! It's you, Tomuś! What are you doing here!? Come in!"

All three entered. The apartment was on the second floor. Tomek knocked. An elderly woman, probably his grandmother, opened the door.

"It's so nice to see you! Did you bring any friends? Come in, everyone, I'll get you something! "

Tomek entered first, followed by Artur and Marcin.

"Take off your shoes!"

They took off their shoes and entered the guest room. The apartment they had just entered was M3. Suddenly, Marcin's phone rang. It was M48. Marcin hesitated for a moment whether to answer. He answered.

"Yes, I'm listening.

" "Hello, Marcin. I'd like to remind you and your friends that I'm waiting for your reports. Goodbye."

Marcin, surprised, put down the phone and exchanged glances with his friends. His throat felt empty. It had been a long time since he'd had anything to drink. This couldn't be. But they had to find accommodation at Grandma's. Grandma had just arrived and sat down across from Tomek, next to Artur. A few moments passed, during which Tomek was lost in conversation with Grandma. Marcin was too tired to listen. If only he could at least have a cigarette... But there was no sign of quenching his thirst. He wanted to go to bed already... He was falling asleep...

Chapter V

- Marcin! Marcin!

Marcin woke up and looked around. Tomek was standing in front of him, calling him.

"Marcin!" It's nine o'clock! Get up! Grandma bought us a pack of Marlboros and some Gingerbread! Come on!

When Marcin heard this, he immediately woke up completely and stood up. Artur was sitting at the kitchen table, sipping a drink, and judging by the empty cans, Tomek had already drained his.

"Hi Artur!" Marcin greeted him.

"Hey! Sit down and drink, we're going out soon; we'll need some food. "

Marcin didn't answer, just sat down and gulped down his Gingerbread.

"Where are the cigarettes?" Marcin asked

. Artur pointed to the refrigerator. Marcin looked in that direction and saw a still-sealed pack of Marlboros. He went to the refrigerator and started to open it, but Tomek came over and grabbed the pack from his hands.

"Not here! Not in the apartment!" he explained.

"Okay, I'm going to get some fresh air."

He put on his shoes and left. Artur and Tomek followed.

They stopped in the parking lot in front of the apartment building. Marcin opened the package and shared it with his friends. Tomek managed to find a way to light it. After a few moments, Artur spoke up.

"So what do we do now?"

A long moment passed before anyone answered

. "I have a clan meeting at 4 p.m. today, I think I'll have internet on this laptop," Marcin said

. "Okay, what are we going to do until then?

" "Maybe we should go wander around town?" Tomek suggested

. Marcin and Artur agreed.

Chapter VI

Marcin, Tomek, and Artur walked slowly through the market square, looking around. Grocery stores, second-hand shops, clothing stores, automotive stores, liquor stores…

They stopped at such a store. They went inside. The line was short, only a few rather groggy customers. Marcin took his place behind them.

"I'd like 12 Reds.

" "I'd like your commander .

" "I'm sorry, I don't have any. I'd like those Reds, please."

"You want me to call the police?

" "What, I can't even buy Reds!?"

Then all three of them left the store.

"Fuck, how stupid, they won't even sell us beer. Oh my god," Artur said regretfully.

Marcin and Tomek didn't respond, just sat down on a nearby bench. After a long moment, Tomek spoke up.

"Maybe we can at least pick up a girl? At least on the phone?

" "Ugh, no chance with a guy like that, no one will fall for you," Marcin replied.

"Well, we can try."

Tomek pulled out his Communicator and started taking pictures, then opened it and started doing whatever came to mind. A few moments later, Tomek was sitting without his phone. Some fucking skater snatched it from his hands and ran off.

"Not bad. The phone count is minus one," Artur said.

The three of them sat on the bench in silence for a while longer, then they got up and went for pizza and then to Grandma's apartment.

"Well, our lives are screwed..." Marcin declared.

Their friends nodded and said nothing. It was only 2 p.m. on their second day in Poland, and they were already fed up. They didn't know how much longer they would have to stay in this country or what exactly they were supposed to do.

Grandma returned home at 4 p.m., finding Marcin in front of the computer and Tomek and Artur staring blankly at the TV.

"I'm with the kids!" she greeted them, but only after a long moment did Marcin speak

, "Hello!", and return to his game. That was the end of their conversation. The whole day had flown by.

Chapter VII

The next few days were very similar. They only had six phone calls left. M48 never once surprised them. They were terribly bored, and they spent entire days and nights wandering around the city. They still lived at Tomek's grandmother's house. They managed to find a liquor store where they could always buy drinks, and near it there was a bench where they often sat and sipped their drinks. They didn't know exactly what to do with themselves. A whole month passed like that. Tomek couldn't handle it anymore. He fell into depression. He started spending entire days in front of his computer, leaving only to go to the bathroom or pick up a previously ordered pizza. He missed all his old friends, whom he had abandoned without even saying goodbye. When he called M48, he always got his stupid voicemail. Marcin and Artur were also on the verge of a mental breakdown, but fortunately, they felt better than Tomek. All three wanted to return home on their own, but it was impossible because they had no identity documents. They were stranded in Poland. No job, no home, no information on what to do next. Simply empty…