The London Independent Story Prize
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Chewing Gum by Lili Maylat from Israel
So, you're asking what I remember from that day?
Well, I'm eleven, skinny… no, better say Human skeleton. It's a good expression you know? Because you can see the human but you can also see his skeleton. When I looked at my ribs, I could see them clearly.
Although I was hungry, our body as it formed at the extermination camp fascinated me. At first, we all looked the same but as time went by and more bones revealed I noticed the differences between us. At some point, I could tell who is who by the bones structure. Maybe that's what later made me a specialist in Musculoskeletal Medicine.
To answer your question, when I got out of Auschwitz, I remember one American soldier. He was standing in front of me, chewing. He didn't stop chewing. I was hypnotized by his chewing and didn't notice I was coming closer to him.
He stopped chewing and smiled. He took out something from his pocket and offered it to me. I didn't take it.
He peeled the wrapping and put the thing in his mouth. He was chewing again. He then said: "GUM". He repeated the word again slowly. Gum. Then he took the gum out of his mouth showing it to me before putting it back. Yuk.
It was my first encounter with chewing gum. We never had those in Poland.
When he gave me a new gum, I took it. I peeled the wrapping carefully and put the gum in my mouth. It was hard at the beginning and became softer when I chewed it, the mint flavor spreading in my mouth. Then I took it out of my mouth looked at it and put it back.
The American soldier laughed and caressed my bald head.
~~~
לראיון באתר של LISP:
