"WHO IS SINGING THERE" "5." "April 1941." "Somewhere in Serbia..." "Sun is rising" "On Saturday" "Voice is coming" "From away" "Poor people from around" "Wait for the sun to come" "To Belgrade, to Belgrade" "With Krstic Co." "The people are getting ready" "They have all the reasons for travelling" "But luck have they not" "I am unfortunate" "Since I was kid" "With all my sorrow" "I sing songs" "I wish, oh my mother," "That all this was only a dream." "Oh little roses" "Hear the pain of my heart" "And cry with tears" "To soothe my sorrow." "I bring a message from Krstic" "They have a flat tyre." " Really?" "They are lying!" "It is true, grendpa'." "How do you know?" "Last time I missed audition because of them." "Listen, tell them that they must respect the time table!" "If they said that they depart at 5, it must be at 5!" "Right!" "Not a minute more!" "It's none of my business." "Excuse me, how much there is 'till the next bus stop?" "What next stop?" "I mean, if I go now, when will I get to the next stop?" "Man, you are crazy!" "THIS is a bus stop!" "The next stop is behind that wood." "I guess around 5 km." "I can't wait, who knows when will the bus." "And maybe I catch something." "Goodbye!" "Is it serious?" "Tuberculosis, isn't it?" "!" "They don't know what it is " "But it seems there is no cure for me." "You are young, you will make it." "That's what makes me sad, I am so to say in best years." "You have at least had enough of life." "So I can die?" "!" "I didn't mean it that way." "You rascal, God damn you!" "Get away from me!" "Please folks, easy!" "I beg you, easy!" "Excuse me, my lungs." " Forget excuses, I live of singing from lungs!" "Open it!" "Where?" " Inside." "Is the front doors for you?" " The rear doors are closed." "So it means you have to wait, not to run to the front." "Aha!" "It will not make it, you know." "Eh... thanks for telling me, I didn't know." "Daddy!" "Should I let them in?" "Yes, son." "Daddy, should we start?" "Drive, Misko!" "We are not going to travel together with gipsies?" "!" "Anyone who pays for ticket can travel." "20 dinars." "How can you charge so much?" "What is much is much, really!" "Who wants, here it is, who doesn't" " The road is free!" "Old man." "Old man!" "Don't touch me!" " Conductor is calling you." "Do you have the ticket?" "What ticket?" "AIRPLANE TICKET!" "IT'S NOT FUNNY, YOU KNOW!" "Who is singing there?" "!" "You hear me!" "I told you not to sing!" "Ha?" "You are talking to me?" " Yes, you!" "I will not allow drunken passengers!" "First, I am not drunk at all." "Than you have to shut up!" "That's the last thing I needed!" "Sober people also to start singing!" "Can I cry then?" "If I let you through my hands, you will cry like never before!" "Old man, do you want that I stop the bus and throw you out?" "Can I ask you something, honestly?" "Can I travel without a ticket?" "I carry the money to my son in the army, every dinar is important to me." "You must buy the ticket." "Come on, leave the old man alone." "You will not go bankrupt because of 20 dinars." "You can see that he is broke." "Who is poor?" "!" "Me?" "!" "Give me FIVE tickets!" "How much?" " Five!" "Let us see who is poor!" " One will be enough." "Five or nothing!" "It's not possible, man!" "IT'S NOT!" "Stop driving me crazy!" "Take ONE!" "One - not!" "Misko, STOP!" "Break!" "Break Misko!" "Daddy, have you seen how good it breaks?" "Very well, son, very well." "But next time a bit easier, a?" "You old man, out!" "Right away, out!" "You will drive me crazy, a?" "And then say that I charged you five tickets!" "OUT!" "Out, you hear me?" "Wait, where are you going?" "To Belgrade." "Is this a bus stop, ha?" "Err... the bus stopped?" "It has not stopped for you!" "Stop is 200m down the road." "Now get down and run; maybe you will catch us." "But, sir?" "Get down, you fool." "What if somebody see me taking passengers out of bus stop and report me?" "Come on, get down." "Rules are rules." "You want a ticket?" "Go on, Misko." "Go on, son." "Two to Belgrade." " 40 dinars." "Please let me give up my sit for you." " No need." "Please." " Thank you." "Come, sit there." "You are crazy!" " Rules are rules." "Drive on, Misko!" "When we arrive in Belgrade, we go to my sister." "And tomorrow morning we travel to the sea." " What sea?" "What do you think why I have escaped from the house, now, when we are married?" "I want to see the sea." "Why haven't you said it before?" " 'Cause you wouldn't have come!" "If you don't want, go back home." "There it is, go stay alone." "Ok, don't be mad." " I go." "Daddy, when we arrive in Belgrade, will we go to the Zoo again?" "Off course, Misko." "He likes animals so much." "In the Zoo I can't get him off the cage with monkeys." "'Cause they are so funny!" "Nice boy." "Shame on you!" "How can you do that in front of all this people!" "Get out and do what you want!" "What is the matter, old man?" "He is my husband; at least he can touch me!" "I would prove if they have marriage certificate at all." "Show me the marriage certificate." "Everything is in order." "But, no touching in the bus." "What is it now?" "This is no bus stop." "If there was law and order, they would have been banned to drive." "They do what they want!" "Scandalous!" "Where have you been?" "!" "Can I cut?" " Go on!" "Daddy, piggy!" "Stop, my piggy!" "I will kill both conductor and his son, if army barracks in Belgrade closes!" "Old man, you could lose your wallet!" "Thank you, son." "Put it better in the jacket, someone could steal it from you." "Who would dare to steal something from me?" "!" "I survived two wars!" "The two over there." "Those steal even when you look at them." "I would kill if they only touch my pocket!" "I quit smoking to save money for my son!" "If you have time, buy me a sack of salt, and we will compensate for this." "Off course, brother." "Excuse me, if it is no secret, what kind of rocks do you collect?" "Coloured and sparkling." "Excuse me, where do you take it?" "To a scientist." "Bride, listen: if the bean is there I give you 10 dinars " "If not - You give me 5." "All right." "Once more?" "Beware, bride!" "They are thieves." "You will lose all your money." "We travel whole morning for only 20 kilometres!" "Who is in a hurry he can walk." "Are you really putting those pigs in the bus?" "!" "Where should I put them?" "On the roof?" "!" "Ridiculous!" "What is much is much!" "Do you know that in Belgrade I earn more on one pig - than on all your tickets?" "We depart!" "Daddy, are the pigs eating?" " Hold that steering!" "He doesn't watch the road!" "Two years ago, for a bet, he drove 2 km with tied eyes - and hasn't even scratched the bus!" "Surely he drove, but what?" "What, he didn't?" "!" "Two km with tied eyes?" "Come on!" " Don't provoke him!" "Misko!" "Have you driven 2 km with tied eyes, ha?" "I don't like when people are making up." "Daddy, he doesn't believe me!" " Let's bet!" "Don't!" "Tell him you believe him!" " I will not bet, but I can not believe." "Are you aware how much are two kilometres?" "!" "Stop." "Stop!" "You rascals!" "God damn you!" "Ok, ok, ok." " Can you see anything?" "No, I don't..." "all right, I was kidding." "You will call my son a liar in front of all this people!" "We liars?" "!" "Give me the head." "Go on, Misko, go on." "Brother, don't!" "Please!" " We all believe you!" "And I believe, too!" " Don't panic, folks!" "My misko is genius for driving." "Tell him to stop!" "LOOK OUT, THE POLE!" "And two years ago, again for bet, he drove half kilometre backwards!" "Backwards, what are you ta...?" " SHUT UP MAN!" "Don't provoke!" "You don't believe me?" "!" " Yes we believe!" "Yes, yes!" "Daddy, what is this?" "!" "This was not here!" "Go back!" " Where?" "!" "Back!" "Back!" " "Back, back?" "!" What shall we do now?" "The road is closed, you must go around!" "People, this army thing does not smell good." "What do you want now:" "should we go around - or should we go back?" "Now to go back?" "!" "We drive around for so long!" "Drive on, Misko!" "That's it Misko." "Bravo!" "I am terribly thirsty." "Can I have a little from that water?" " This water is not for drinking." "I am dead thirsty." " Want some brandy?" "Thanks, I can't, my stomach..." " Ah, wait!" "There is cure for that also, mister." " D-I-E beste?" "Die beste, die beste, the best!" "German medicine is the best in the world!" "Seems you would be glad if they came, ha?" "Well, you know, at least we would know order, and discipline - and who should do what!" " That Germans should all be lined to the wall and executed!" "All of them!" "You have 100 years, and you speak nonsense!" "What is this?" "!" "Daddy, look, he is ploughing the road!" "Ah crazy man!" "You can't go further!" "You can't go further!" "How do you mean?" " So:" "You can't fly over ploughing;" "ploughing you must not cross." "Heavens!" "Since the army has closed the main road, everybody go this way, across my land." "Is it right?" "!" "All right, old man, what should we do now?" "Pay me for crossing the ploughing." "Eh, that's not going to be..." "Come on, drive!" "Don't waste time!" "Drive on, Misko!" "Old man, we must go on." " You can't!" "Only over my dead body!" "Let me down, I will call children!" "Let me down!" "I will call..." "Children, children!" "Children!" "Daddy!" "Stop shouting!" "PIERCE, they don't want to pay!" "Don't, for god's sake, don't!" "PIERCE!" "PIERCE!" "Stop!" "We will pay!" "Don't do it, please!" "STOP!" "Old man, how much we owe you?" " 100 dinars." "Right away." "Daddy, what is it?" "It's this: people ask that we pay for crossing - collect the money anyway you can." "How much?" " A lot:" "200 dinars." "200 dinars!" "?" "Come on, from where?" "For what?" "!" "Come on, give the money, or they will pierce all tyres." "Quick!" "They don't want to wait." "Come on, come on." "I sympathize." "My children will carry the wagon." "Come on, carry it!" "Come on, brothers, give a hand also!" "Why in God's name have you ploughed this road, ha?" "For 10 years I am prosecuting the state to pay me for the road across my land." "And now, when I see that no one knows "who drinks and who pays", I will take the justice in my hands and make up for my loss, or die!" "God help you!" "Who are you escorting?" "The teacher." " What happened, in God's name?" "Scoundrels... they killed my uncle." "Sons of Jova Stevic." " Old man, here is yours 100 dinars." "Wait, wait." "One, two, three, four, five." "All right?" "All right!" "Drive!" "Everybody out!" " What is it now?" "We have paid, what more do you want!" "?" "They killed the teacher and it would be right to escort him - and meanwhile I will change the wheel." "Come on, come on, quick, quick!" "This hack will never make it to the graveyard." "I will miss the audition for singer in restaurant "Lipov lad" - the best restaurant in Belgrade!" "You sing?" "Really!" "?" "I would be exceptionally glad if you heard me - consider yourself invited." "I don't know..." " I will surely be admitted " "I would sing only for you." "Excuse me, please." "Why did you hit the horse?" " To make it hurry up!" "See how slow it is!" "Excuse me, are you a journalist?" " Ah, no, no..." "I write down folk tales and unusual, rare words." " A... my respects!" "Well... someone has to take care about the riches of this people." "Gun has fired from a stealth" "Our teacher has gone" "It's spring of '41" "It's spring, the evil comes" "Oh my mother" "What is happening?" "The sad song I must play" "Death is coming to see us " "And no peace is here, no more." "I am unfortunate" "Since I was kid" "With all my sorrow" "I sing songs" "I wish, oh my mother," "That all this was only a dream." "...all what I have nice to tell you, my dear uncle," "I have already told you before." "And, err..., I should add nothing more." "Generations and generations that you have brought to the right path, remember you eagerly and with pride." "Err... here, from this land, many of yours shepherds and shepherdesses have left to cities, to become honourable and respectful citizens, err..., doctors, engineers, and..." "lawyers." "They went to the woods..." "You know that I have always appreciated, respected and listened to you." "But this time I will do what is most reasonable - I will kill animals and beasts like rats!" "I will not let any law judge them." "Where is your father?" " I didn't set off to the funeral, but hospital!" "Quiet, men." "Easy!" "We are not going to fight!" "Child knows nothing." "How aren't they ashamed?" "From whom?" " From us." "We came to look them...?" "Doesn't matter..." "Laws are meant for people, and they are beasts." "And beasts we must stop." "I want to promise you, in front of this people, that I will find the murderers, and that I will kill them." "I know what you would say - "Don't do that"," "Because you did everything you could against revenge." "You have lost your life trying to make peace among warring parties." "You wanted that people of this land live in happiness, peace and understanding." "Listen, where are the people from the bus?" " They all went there, friend." "But why?" " I don't know, friend." "Come on!" "Daddy, I would do this!" "Daddy would also, my son!" "Die, you bastard!" "Shame on you!" "Stevic sons!" "Hold them there!" "Can I go with you to Belgrade?" "!" " Come on, priest, quick!" "Folks, everybody to the right side of the bus!" "Left can not hold!" "Thank God!" "We are alive!" "Yes!" "And now we will huddle up together all the way to Belgrade - and this side is free!" "Can't you understand, man, that front left tyre is weak and that it will explode if we put too much weight on it?" "!" "And we have no more reserve?" "!" " That's your problem!" "I paid to sit." "Come on, find me a place." "Please sit here!" " Not on you place!" "You have shown who and what are you!" "Leave the girl alone!" "She is not responsible for our lack of manners!" "Don't you dare to put me in the same line with you!" "I am a sir for you!" "All this is a consequence of a total lack of discipline and chaos!" "Honest people must feel shame!" " You should cut your tongue down!" "What!" "?" " And you don't threaten anyone in my bus!" " You shut up; you are the same like him!" "Why do you allow that he insults your passengers?" "LET ME SEE YOUR TICKETS, PLEASE!" " What tickets?" "Ticket control!" "Where is your ticket?" " I don't know..." "Throw him out!" " Why do you ask for tickets now?" "Routine control every 50 km." "Who has no ticket must buy new one and pay the fine or go on walking!" "I can't find it..." " Ask your colleges, musicians, maybe they have stolen it." "You, don't make insults!" "I am hit singer." "Good afternoon!" " Good afternoon!" "Friend, the bridge is broken, you must go back!" "What do you mean, broken?" "!" " Few days ago the army has pulled the canons across." "It's weak now; it will not hold the bus!" "Listen, friend, I have already left the main road because of the army, and I will not do it again, even if I have to fall in the river together with the bus!" " Then you go and die, if you want to!" "What is it now again!" "... this can not hold, ha?" "Daddy, this is all rusty!" " I fuck the one who made it so stupid!" "Hey, people, the bridge will fall down!" "Believe me!" "It really looks poor." "If you ask me, I would drive the bus across." "It's not as bad as it looks!" "RUN FOLKS!" "The bridge is falling down!" "What are we going to do now?" "!" " Nothing." "Nobody pushed him   nobody made him shake the fence." "We will only report the case." "As far as I know, people, all drowned persons appear at the surface at least two times:" "this one - not once!" "His pockets were full of rocks." "What left from such a man!" "Come on, people, DEPARTURE!" "Daddy, look!" "Like man with no legs and arms!" "Take that rifle away!" " Don't worry, the gun is secured." "Daddy, tyre!" "Excuse me, accident, it was empty!" "OUT!" " I didn't mean it...!" "OUT!" " But really, I didn't mean it..." " OUT!" "And if I haven't pushed the barrel away, he would have blown my head apart!" " God, are we going to get there alive?" "!" "If from nothing else, I will die of hunger." "I'm hungry, too!" "Listen, first offer the worst meat, bones and so, and then the rest." "For god's sake, people, what is this?" "!" "How much more are we going to stop and wait?" "I must be in Belgrade for audition at last at five!" "Barbarians!" "This is outrageous!" " Could you explain us what we wait now?" "HALF AN HOUR BREAK!" " What for?" "Weren't you the first to claim hungry?" "!" "And we two are hungry, too!" "And rules allow us a break!" "Beware!" "Take the barrel off, Misko!" "It's ready!" "Hey, gipsies, take this." "Play something, make the people feel good." "And if I sell all the meat and brandy you will get another 20 dinars." "Fair?" "Fair, boss!" "Here is the meat!" "Don't cough on the meat!" "You want to scare away all my customers?" "!" "Get lost!" "Come let us drink a brandy - groom will pay." "I have no money." " Eh, you are for nothing." "If I have married such a girl, I would offer the whole bus!" "Come, give us three brandies on me!" "Here it is!" "Have you ever been to the sea?" " Eh, my dear, where haven't I been..." "Where is most beautiful?" " It depends, bride, what do you want?" "If I were him, I would take you to some little island, we would walk by the sea, sing songs..." "This one, yours, has only one thing in his mind?" "What are you laughing at, ha?" "!" "If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have seen the world!" "You would die in that desert!" "Here is a bit for you to eat." " Thanks, I have no appetite." "You know, father, since I have fallen sick, nobody loves me anymore." "Everybody chase me away, avoid me..." " People are afraid of the sickness, you know?" "!" "Last year I felt very bad, I've been in coma, you will not believe me, but all this I've already seen and experienced:" "this bus, this people, this river..." "everything!" "There is no difference between this and other world!" " Everything is written in the Holy Bible..." "I know..." "I know what is written, there stands that a man should also love his neighbour, but me - nobody loves me!" "You see what is happening in the world?" "!" " Yes, yes!" "People kill each other everywhere, like beasts!" "Are you for a dance?" " Eh..." "I know only folks dance..." "Just you lean on me, everything will be all right." "Look at that rooster!" "He will jump on the bride till the end!" "Yes, for sure." "Bravo, bride!" "We two could become partners!" "It's too late, my brother, I've already made a partnership for whole life..." "Listen, what do you need that kid for?" "You need a serious man, who will love you as a woman..." "Where are you going with him?" "Life flies away quickly..." "Till he gets stronger, your time will pass..." "Life..." "love... it is like a song:" "If it doesn't fall at the right moment, it's like it didn't happen!" "People, look!" "There he is!" "He is alive!" "I could have drowned!" "If I had fallen into the river, I would have drowned immediately!" "Those like me do not drown so easy." "This vampire always ruins everything." "Get packed, Misko, we should get going." "Come in folks, we go now!" "Daddy!" "Daddy look, rabbit!" "Misko my son, I will catch it for you." "Let me do it, I am faster and handier." "Now he is finished for sure!" "Daddy, rabbit has escaped!" "How come you are here?" "I was shooting the rabbit!" "I didn't mean it, believe me." "Have I hit you?" "Unfortunately, you haven't!" " This man is undestroyable!" "Run away or I will smack your head with that gun!" "You want to kill my passengers?" "!" "Should I go in prison because of you?" "!" "WHAT IS THIS?" "!" "We stopped to have lunch, Mr. Lieutenant." "SURROUND THEM!" "RAJKOVIC!" "Line up the civilians!" "Get in line!" "Quick!" "Quick!" "Which road did you use?" "Well, until the bridge - side road, then by the shore." "DON'T LIE!" "The road is guarded!" "I know, you are SPIES!" "Who do you call spies?" "Do you know who are you talking to?" "Do you know when did I deserve this?" "No, you don't!" "Because at that time you have bin still shitting in your pants - and eating duck shit instead of mulberries!" "I am Aleksa Simic!" "Ex-Soldier of the Second Infantry "Steel" Division!" "Mr. Lieutenant, Mayor Lukic is on the line!" " Finally!" "Halo!" "Yes!" "Yes, Mr. Mayor." "Grabovac" " Blatiste" " Risovske bare." "At once, Mr. Mayor!" "Rajkovic!" " Yes sir!" "Ready to move!" " Yes sir!" "Who drives this junk?" "!" "My son." "Come here, Misko." "Get in the bus." "Where are you taking him?" " Military secret!" "Rajkovic!" "You stay here with ten men - and watch the civilians." "Others get in the bus." "Hey!" "My notes!" "Hey!" "My things!" "If you were mine..." "Those two over there - Someone could steal'em together with the canon." "Watch it now:" "ENEMY IS CROSSING THE RIVER!" "And those will fight against Germans?" "!" "Against such power!" "What power?" "!" "Why do you scare this people?" " Come on, they have overrun half Europe, us - they will leave for seeds." " They can kiss my ass!" "I know them very well!" "I have been wiping them out around here like bugs!" "Those like you are starting wars." "Who is starting what?" "Fuck you!" "Do YOU have a son in the army?" "!" "You will not eat much bread out of singing." "Did it start?" "!" "I was only examining the canon!" "I didn't mean it, believe me!" "Who was shooting?" " This loony here!" "He could have killed us all!" "Mr. Corporal!" "I swear, I have only touched it!" "Misko!" "Son..." "He is recruited." "Command needs a driver immediately." " Mister, he is my only child, please - he doesn't now to take care of himself..." " We will care about him!" "Come on, say goodbye." "Get out!" "Come on, we are leaving." "Crow flies above the fields" "And gathers its flocks..." "This bird of bad news feels that war is near." "German rides black horse" "Whole Europe shakes" "Our army expects the attack - the little canon it has prepared" "I am unfortunate" "Since I was a kid" "With all my sorrow" "I sing songs" "I wish, oh my mother," "That all this is only a dream." "Wait!" "Let us go home, please!" "To go back?" "!" " We will go to the sea next year." "You go if you want, I didn't make you come!" "You can't go inside!" " Why?" "I don't understand...?" "As soon as you are with us, something explodes!" "You are a life threat, brother!" "Old man, come on!" "What should I do now?" "!" " By train." "Near there is a train station." "You will arrive before us!" "Stop!" "Stop!" "God help you, friends!" "Where are you going?" "To Belgrade." "And you?" "It seems you are escaping?" "Better go back." "I go get my family." "Last night there was a blackout - people are afraid of bombing." "Better go back!" "Go back now?" "!" "Finally, the road to Belgrade." "The bus is jumping." "It's got used to Misko, now it feels another hand." "I am really glad for the little one." "Me crazy, I have freed him from serving." "You saw how he drives?" "You are glad that they have recruited him, ha?" "Yes I am." "God kill'em." "And you have missed audition?" " I don't worry, when they hear me they will take me even without it." "Listen, in which division is your son?" "Artillery, like yours." "I will show you his picture." "With friends - He sent it last week." "Where is my wallet?" "FOLKS!" "MY WALLET HAS GONE!" "Where was it?" "Here, in the pocket." "Folks, if somebody has accidentally taken old man's wallet, let him get it back - so that we make no trouble about it!" "Stop the bus and search us all!" "Don't let anyone out until my money is back!" "There is not need to stop and search honest people - we all know who likes to steal here!" "GIVE THE MONEY!" "What money!" "Let me go!" " Give the money, do not pretend!" "Give it back!" "Search them!" "Don't hit the child!" "Get him!" "You will not, as long as I am alive!" "Why haven't you robbed me?" "!" "I would cut your fingers!" "Here is the belt!" "Tie that one there!" "Let me go, you creaky rooster!" "Where did you hide the wallet?" "Do not make me call the police!" "BOMB...!" "For long time has the German planned" "This crazy, terrible flight" "To destroy all" "And build the new world" "Earth is trembling, everything is falling down" "Sunday disappeared - fascist animals destroyed all" "I am unfortunate" "Since I was a kid" "With all my sorrow" "I sing songs" "I wish, oh my mother," "That all this was only a dream." "Translated by Petar Opaccich  Miodrag Martinich"