The Writer's Poke

The death of Jacek’s sister sets in motion a change of events that leads to Jacek committing murder and receiving the death penalty. At least this seems to be the suggestion. After all, if Jacek and his friend hadn’t been drinking vodka and wine, if Jacek’s friend hadn’t accidently run over his friend’s sister, if grief did not force Jacek to leave home, he never would have ended up in a taxi cab, and he never would have had reason or opportunity to kill the driver. From the moment of the present, it is easy to view the past as a series of unchangeable events. Each event “causes” what happens next. It would be too simplistic, perhaps, to suggest that the death of Jacek’s sister directly causes Jacek to murder the taxi cab driver, but her death does led him down a certain path he otherwise would never have traveled, and that is the real point. Jacek’s lawyer apparently doesn’t know Jacek’s story until he meets with him one final time before his execution; however, the lawyer al...

A young man named Jacek carries a heavily-worn picture of a child. Who is the child? Is it his sister? Did she die far too young in some tragic way? Perhaps the young man has never forgiven himself for her death, even though he was in no way responsible. Perhaps her death has made life meaningless. The truth of the matter is this: the young man feels helpless. Life has no purpose. He feels as though he has no control over his life, just as he had no ability to protect the child from death. It’s by no means a rational thought, but he convinces himself that all deaths are random and beyond the control of the living. With this thought in mind, he finds a metal pipe and some rope. He plans a random act. He will hire a taxi and kill the driver. Who is the driver? It doesn’t matter. Whoever drives the cab that picks him up will do.  When he puts the rope around the driver’s neck, the young man discovers that death doesn’t come easily. The driver struggles, and event...