my boy, he said, gristle stuck between his two front teeth, my boy the trick is to believe the lie you are living.

i get that, i said, whittling away at a branch we had found. pieces split from the blade landed on the stream, floating downward. i’m not stupid you know. i’ve done this sort of thing before.

yes boy, he shook his head, tried with his tongue to get at the gristle. yes, you have but this is a different sort of thing. they’re all wise to our kind these days. you see the stupid ones get plastered all over the news. they even had a documentary once.

he finally fingered his tooth and inspected what had been caught there. it was a between infomercials, i dont think anyone noticed it.

he flicked it away, which isn’t the point. they know we’re out there and we have to be careful. he pointed a thick finger at me, you my boy, you just starting out.

he smiled, new territory for you.