The deaf one says:
"He's bald. He's wearing an old army jacket. His trousers are too short. His feet are dirty."
"What about his eyes?"
"I can't see them. He's looking down."
"And his mouth?"
"His lips are too drawn. He must have lost all his teeth."
"And his hands?"
"They're in his pockets. The pockets are huge and filled with something. Potatoes or walnuts, there are bumps showing. He's raising his head, he's looking at us. But I can't make out the color of his eyes."
"Can you see anything else?"
"Lines, deep lines on his face, like scars."
The blind one says:
"I can hear the sirens. The raid is over. Let's go home."
Later, with time, we no longer need a shawl over our eyes or grass in our ears. The one playing the blind man simply turns his gaze inward, and the deaf one shuts his ears to all sounds.
The Deserter
We find a man in the forest. A living man, a young man, without a uniform. He is lying behind a bush. He looks at us without moving.
We ask him:
"Why are you lying there?"
He answers:
"I can't walk anymore. I've come from the other side of the frontier. I've been walking for two weeks. Day and night. Especially night. I'm too weak now. I'm hungry. I haven't eaten for three days."
We ask:
"Why haven't you got a uniform? All young men have a uniform. They are all soldiers."
He says:
"I don't want to be a soldier anymore."
"You don't want to fight the enemy anymore?"
"I don't want to fight anyone. I have no enemies. I want to go home."
"Where is your home?"
"Still a long way off". I'll never get there if I don't find something to eat."
We ask:
"Why don't you go and buy something to eat? Don't you have any money?"
"No, I don't have any money, and I can't be seen. I must hide. No one must see me."