AN IDIOT’S LIFE

I.

In a small country, located somewhere between Europe and Asia, there was a small village, known by the name of Medovene. It had a population of 372 people from different origin and races, who managed to live in peace with one another. Of course there were quarrels from time to time, mainly connected with obstacles daily life created. But most of the time it was quiet and peaceful – a dream come true for people, living in cities, but not for the locals – this calmness suffocated them. They felt their lives passing in the monotony of daily routines.

Thank God, there were children. Although there were only five, they made noise for a whole class. Kids loved to play outside, irritating cattle or nervous dogs, or playing hide-and-seek in the nearby forest. However, their favourite hobby was to mock at Guncho – the local shepherd.

Guncho was a 25-year old man, who, due to his illness, had the mental abilities of a child. When asked a question he found difficult, he would slap his head, smile stupidly and cry: “Wa-ter in myyy heeeaad, wa-ter in myy heeeaad” and run away rapidly. Kids loved that, chased him and made him repeat again and again. Guncho deliberately let himself be caught, because he adored them. He didn’t realise he was their laughing stock, he thought they were his friends. Although Guncho was mentally disabled (there was much truth in his words “water in my head”- he suffered from hydrocephalus*) and couldn’t read and write, he was a man of good heart, always ready to help. The entire village knew him and people tried to make his life bearable, as much as they could.

Guncho was abandoned as a child by his mother, who, the minute she understood he won’t be a “normal” person ran away somewhere, nobody knew where. Father – unknown. Somehow Guncho managed to grow up, moving from one house to another, trying to help with daily chores, taking care of domestic animals, talking and singing to them. He adored cows, sheep, goats, chicken, cats, dogs, pigeons, turkeys and they loved him in their own way, too. Whenever one of them refused to eat, because of sickness, their owners called not for the local vet, but for Guncho. He managed to “convince” the animal after a short chat to accept some food. People were grateful to the young man and gave him presents.

One day, when the old shepherd died, a meeting was called and all the villagers unanimously decided that Guncho had to be their new shepherd. This made him so happy, that he rushed into the woods and howled the whole day – that was one of his ways of showing satisfaction. Since then, Guncho was the proud shepherd of the village of Medovene. In the mornings he would greet the owners, gather the animals, hug them and go along the road with a stupid smile on his face. After collecting all of the cattle, their strange happy herd would go to the nearest big pasture and slowly and clumsily settle there.

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*Hydrocephalus is the buildup of fluid in the cavities (ventricles) deep within the brain. The excess fluid increases the size of the ventricles and puts pressure on the brain.

II.

The pasture was surrounded by a picturesque river, which ended in the middle of nowhere, creating a swampy area. Small animals would enter the river to play, rather than use it for pragmatic reasons - drinking water, for example. They were often swept by the current into the swampy spot. Nobody knew how deep this place was, but, since two fatal incidents happened there in the recent 10 years, locals avoided this location. It grew wild, full of strange-looking plants, a home for innumerous water species, some of which created strange and scary sounds during the night. Guncho was the only one who wasn’t afraid of the swamp. He believed that the water in his head came namely from this place. He thought he was partly human, partly water creature. Maybe that was the reason he adored swimming in the swamp. He did it every day at lunchtime – while the animals were resting under the shadows of the nearby oaks.

III.

Days were passing, months, years. Life in Medovene kept on with a slow, almost invisible rhythm. Considering the age of the prevailing part of the population, when someone died it was an event - everyone put on their most official suits or dresses, as if there was a wedding ceremony to be held. No matter the religion of the deceased, the whole village attended the funeral. It was an occasion for them to see each other, to have a snack and a drink together, to discuss the latest events.

Guncho hated funerals, because he didn’t understand them. He would suddenly rush through the crowd hugging people he hadn’t seen for a long time (his perception of time was wrong – he couldn’t make a difference between hours, days and years), smiling and singing. Although people knew it wasn’t on purpose, this behaviour often upset the close relatives of the deceased. That’s why he was a “persona non grata” at funerals. People didn’t want to be reminded that a “normal” person had stopped to exist and crazy Guncho was going on with his senseless life. A week or two after the funeral close relatives of the deceased, chased by their sense of guilt, would give Guncho "presents" - the tools or clothes of the deadman. Guncho could recognize whose objects these were and would ask where the person was. He was told the man had been gone and wouldn’t come back ever. Guncho felt horrible – as if he was a thief, and he didn't use the presents. He would store them in his secret place – a small cave in the surroundings of the village, waiting for their owner to return. Actually, the place wasn’t that secret – kids soon discovered it and often made a mess, stealing or hiding some of the objects. That made Guncho depressed – he would abandon his job, refuse to eat and sleep until he found the thing and bring it back to its particular place.

IV.

One day in the summer an old house in the village was bought and in a while two women settled there. A mother and a daughter. The daughter’s name was Nicky – she was a sixteen-year old beautiful young lady – slim, tall, long blonde hair, large emerald, always curious eyes. At first locals couldn’t believe that an event of such character was taking place in Medovene. The two women were overwhelmed with attention, small gifts and other signs of hospitality. Soon everyone in the village knew their story. It turned out that the mother was a housewife, the daughter was a schoolgirl and there was a father – a well-known surgeon, working in the nearest city. When asked when the doctor would come to live there, the women’s answer was the same. “Soon, he’s got a lot to do before moving in.”

Days were passing at a slow pace, and soon the two newcomers were completely integrated into the local community. Due to his job, Guncho couldn’t meet the women for a while, but he had heard of them.

V.

One morning, while he and the herd were making their way to the pasture, just in the village’s end, he noticed a small black kitty, hiding behind a shrub. The kitty was so scared, that it was meowing hysterically and distracted the other animals. Guncho managed to approach the kitty and after a short soothing chat took it in his arms. Guncho guessed whose this animal was, but he couldn't leave the herd, so he decided to bring it back in the evening. When the time came Guncho gathered the herd, took the kitty and headed to the newcomers’ house. He rang the bell, the door opened and… there she was. An angel in a white dress, red swollen eyes, tears dropping on her perfect face.

One "miaw" was enough to change her expression - tears dried, broad smile on her face, she cried: “You found him, you found him, Mom, come!”. Then there were hugs and kisses , a cry and laughter, innumerous gratitudes, and an offer for dinner. Guncho got so embarrassed by all the attention he got, he couldn’t bear it. He smiled stupidly, hit his head several times, shouted: “Wa-ter in myyyy heeead!” and ran away as fast as he could.

In fact, the reason for his escape was Nicky. He immediately fell in love with her, the moment he saw her. He had heard of angels in the local church, but had never seen one before. His emotions were a strange mixture of love, respect and fear of the supernatural. From that day on, he did his best to avoid having to meet Nicky, but secretly observed her, full of adoration. Nicky could feel someone was watching her and soon discovered who. She was flattered by Guncho’s attention and searched for a way of communication with him. She would come to the pasture at first every morning, then the afternoons and then in the evenings again. Guncho’s first thought was to hide himself, but then he would look at the herd and feel guilty – he was responsible for these animals, he couldn’t betray them. So he figured it out. Every time Nicky came, he would throw himself into the swamp and swim and dive and float there until she came back home. Nicky liked this little game of his and became even more persistent.

VI.

One day, at lunchtime, Nicky took an unexpected step. She dived into the water. She tried to catch up with Guncho, who was floating around like a dead leaf. What she didn’t know was that the swamp was deep, and Guncho was above the deepest part of it. She swam to him. Guncho was startled. He quickly found his way out of the water, stepped on shore and started to dress hectically. Nicky yelled: “Hey, come back. Why did you escape? You won’t come, ok, I’m coming then!” – and started swimming to the ground. The minute she did it, she felt something was quickly wrapping around her right ankle. She screamed and tried to release herself as fast as she could, but, instead, she felt that the thing was pulling her to the bottom of the swamp. She lost confidence and balance and felt she was to drown any minute. One last “help” and she was lost in the water.

At first Guncho thought Nicky was playing and attempting to lure him to come back into the swamp. He felt so confused and embarrassed, that it took him several minutes to realize what was happening. He plunged quickly and started to look for the girl. A minute passed – nothing, another one – still nothing. Cold sweat, confused mind, shivers down the spine. Guncho was swimming and diving, and gazing and crying. And then he saw her. He dived for the last time, grabbed her porcelain body with one hand and started swimming with the other. He managed to take her to the shore. No signs of life, her pretty lips were blue. Guncho shouted at her, slapped her face, cried, shouted again and howled like a wounded animal. It was useless, she was forever gone...

VII.

...Or so he thought. Luckily a local heard Guncho and went to se what was happening. The ambulance came shortly. A heart massage gave result. Nicky woke up and started coughing out the water she had swallowed. They took her to the same hospital where her father worked. Guncho felt a miracle had taken place. He was relieved.

Nicky spent a week in the hospital until she fully recovered. Her father came to see her several times a day. He kept on asking her what had happened, but she was too embarrassed to tell the truth. So she made up a story – that same day it had been so hot that she had decided to dip herself in the water. She had tried to learn how to swim, but got tired and felt she couldn’t make a move. She told both her parents and the police that she didn’t remember anything after that, only that Guncho was her savior. The case was closed.

VIII.

Nicky was discharged from the hospital and got back home. The whole village went to see her and brought her presents. It was a happy day in Medovene. Guncho was the happiest of all. From that day on Guncho was a daily dinner guest in Nicky’s house. Her father eventually settled in the village. Nicky’s father delicately observed Guncho’s behavior every day, read a lot about hydrocephalus and one morning he called a family meeting.

“We need to help our hero” – said he, “and I think I found how.” Then he started explaining that Guncho’s medical condition can be cured. The procedure included a surgical insertion of a drainage system, called a shunt. This shunt would help the excessive amount of water in Guncho’s brain to flow in the right direction and at the proper rate. This would allow for his brain to function normally. Surgery was expensive, but Nicky’s father was ready to do it himself for free. The whole family agreed and Guncho was taken to hospital.

IX.

Operation was successful. Guncho was left in the hospital for two weeks - the physicians wanted to be sure his body accepted the shunt. It all seemed ok and after a few last tests Guncho was discharged from the hospital and sent back for home recovery. Every day people from the village would come and see him, bringing him breakfast and coffee.

At first Guncho couldn’t realize what was happening, where he was, who all these people around him were. His mind was blurred. Gradually he started to remember. He remembered he had lived in Medovene all his life, he remembered he was the local shepherd, he remembered his “treasures”, he remembered Nicky.

He felt there was a major difference in him, his mind was clearing out every second, he sensed he had lost something irrevocably, he got scared. He wanted to get rid of these thoughts and soon started doing his job again – to distract his mind from bad thoughts. He passed by neighbors’ houses, anticipating each animal, hoping that he would be cheered.

Nothing happened. Suddenly all of the animal friends, whose languages he had spoken before, became nothing more than sheep, cows, lambs, goats, just cattle. The first day they went to the pasture he realized that he didn’t want to take care of the animals anymore. Later, he visited his treasury and felt ashamed of himself. How could dead people’s possessions – old shabby clothes, archaic tools, and useless stuff be valuable for him? He threw them as soon as he could. Children saw this, felt that something wasn’t right and from that day on they avoided him. Subsequently this tendency ranged throughout the whole village.

Guncho felt so lonely, so scared, so depressed. His values had changed, his life had changed and there was no turning back. The only comfort he had left was the pure love he felt for Nicky. When he felt he had gathered enough courage, he went to see her. She threw herself in his hugs, crying and laughing at the same time, pronouncing inarticulate phrases, kissing his forehead, his temples, his cheeks… This lasted several minutes. Throughout which Guncho discovered the bitter truth – he didn’t really love her, she wasn’t an angel, she wasn’t perfect, she wasn’t beautiful at all. She disgusted him.

X.

Guncho ran away back home. Could this filthy poor dwelling be called home? He didn’t think so. He couldn’t stay there; he had to go somewhere to clear his mind. One last time, he went to the pasture. Alone. It was getting dark when he left. He sat on the river bank, near the swamp, stared at it and started wondering what had led to this dramatic change in him. Thoughts were bumping into one another and together in his head, he felt as if his head was getting smaller. He grabbed it in a desperate attempt to remove the headache and he suddenly realized the reason for his depression – there was no water in his head anymore.

The surgery was more than successful; it not only kept the physiological processes of his body run normally, but the mental as well. The shunt helped him think as a normal person. It marked the end of “stupid old Guncho” and gave the beginning of an intelligent human being. This process opened his mind and made him realize the one and only truth - his life was useless. The deceit, the fairytale he had lived into throughout his whole life was now gone. He had to face the truth – he was the village’s laughing stock, he had no education, no skills, no money, no opportunities and he didn’t love anybody. For 30 years. Enough!

Guncho dived into the swamp, relaxed his body and let the creeping plants wrap around him in a final deadly hug and bring him to the bottom of the swamp. The last thought that passed through his mind before losing consciousness was: “Water in my head, wa-ter in m-y he-add”.

The end