The Filthy Ones

The tropical sun has heated the streets intolerably hot. Humidity makes the clothes cling to the skin which makes one feel very sticky. There are no shadows. The sun beams down in the middle of the sky.

The man hurries to his hotel. He swears over his stupidity that he shouldn't have gone for a walk during the hottest hours of the day. He decides to take a shortcut and goes to the areas he haven't been before.

The shopping center is huge, luxurious and air conditioned. He enjoys the coolness while walking through the mall. On a bench, there is a young woman sitting with a Samoyed dog that has a thick white fur. The dog dangles its tongue and is obviously uncomfortably hot.

- Your dog may have too much fur for a climate like this, says the man pointing to the Samoyed.

- He is not my dog, says the woman. - I'm just its personal nanny. At home he has an air conditioned room of his own. Besides, usually he goes out only briefly at night when it is cool enough to breathe some fresh air.

- A filthy rich dog, states the man shaking his head. - I'm pretty sure that he eats only goose liver.

- The dog is not rich but its owner is. What's more, the dogs don't get goose liver but only occasionally. Most of the time, they are fed with dog food imported from the USA and Europe.

The man shakes his head and proceeds to the hotel thinking deeply. In a short while, he notices that he has walked in a very different neighborhood. Luxurious condominium buildings, mansions, shopping malls and restaurants are now replaced by shanties and cardboard houses.

Voices of playing children make the man stop. He watches the kids that are carefree in spite of their obvious poverty and filthiness. The children play in the mud pretending that it is a swimming pool. It is as if they wanted to share what happens behind the high walls in the other parts of the town.

- Cuties, right?

The man startles. Somebody looking like a pimp has suddenly appeared beside him. He does not answer a word but angrily starts to walk and continues his route towards the hotel. The pimp hurries after him, grasps his arm and persists:

- Wanna buy one of the girls? Or do you prefer boys? Hey man, don't walk away, these ones are still unused...