We decided to go to the movies. A new war picture.
The theater was old. A balcony loomed over the first floor, and each level had red velvet chairs.
I was there with a friend and her boyfriend. He seemed upset about the choice of film. I remember thinking it makes sense that this gentle guy was uncomfortable during a war movie.
The movie started.
There was a helicopter flying to rescue another dying helicopter. It was dark, the sun had just set over the ocean. It was hot, the heat from the machines distorted the dark blue green sky. I remember looking out of the helicopter, it was smoking and veering left and right. I could see a woman, hanging on, her loose hair blowing in the wind and her dark black eyes. I could just see a glint of white reflection in them.
Suddenly we are taken away. The movie cuts. Paul Rudd with a beard is pleading with a woman. The same woman from the helicopter. He looks terrible and is begging the woman to try to make it work. She is pregnant and the apartment is in a mess. She is distraught. He calls for help. She keeps begging him to take her away from the heat. "Take me away, I need to leave...NOW." She keeps repeating now over and over.
Another cut. We are in a desert. Red rocky terrain sprinkle the landscape. One large rock formation appears. It creates almost a cave, a kind of rotunda, blessed shade from the sun. Denzel Washington is in army gear. A patrolmen is standing near by, talking endlessly. Washington is looking closely at the sand, sifting through it and finding...something beyond our understanding. He is investigating a crime, a rape among a platoon. He is looking for traces in the sand and trying to block out his companion's blathering. A bird flies overhead, it's shadow races across Washington's invisible clues. The two men look up and a small hawk has a huge bird in its grips. They both wonder how such a small predator got such a large prey.
Back to the helicopters. Weaving back and forth, trying to reach each other. A helicopter clips the wings of a bird. A nearby hawks sees the opportunity and dives, plucking the bird out of downward spin. The hawk takes off towards land as the helicopters dance back and forth.
The hawk lands in my backyard. The bird it has is still alive. I struggle with the decision to try to save the bird myself, but I know it will die soon, and the hawk needs to eat too.
But time passes, and the hawk's prey was too much. The hawk eats itself to death and rots before my eyes. The bird's bones are bleached in rapid time, its feathers begin to blow away. I look around and my backyard is filled with creatures. Slugs and worms begin to eat a mound. The mound reveals itself to be an elephant corpse. Small rodents appear and finally a herd of horses begin to tear at its flesh. I am horrified. I know I need to get them to stop. I have to get them to stop. Their black sweaty bodies tremble as they gorge themselves. One looks up and its eyes are just like the woman's eye from the helicopter. Black, with just a speck of white. I decide to lead them away, far away, to a stable. I decide to walk them myself. I lead them away, and head towards the dirt road. It is miles away, and the sun is setting again.
