“121… 122… 123...”
“What are you doing?”
“Counting the peas on my plate.”
“Why, for goodness sake?”
“Just curious how many peas there...”
“Never mind. Just eat them.”
“124… 125… 126…”
“What did I just say, hmmm?”
“I can’t stop now. I need to know.”
“What bloody nonsense is that? Eat!”
“…. ....”
“OK, OK, tell me. Why is it so important to know how many peas there are on your plate?”
“It’s not important. I just wanna know. 129... 130...”
“Because ...?”
“Because it keeps bugging me.”
“What is?”
“I must have eaten thousands, hundreds of thousands of these tiny, elusive balls. More in numbers than anything else in my life. Once a week, probably my whole life….”
“Who cares? Stop it. It annoys me. You act like a 8-year- old.”
“138… 138… 138?… Blast! I lost count….”
Anton van Esch is a retired administrator, living in Holland. Lately, he has rekindled an almost forgotten hobby and started writing stories again. We'll see where it goes.
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