I asked her if she drinks, she said 'occasionally'
She asked me the same question, I said 'everyday'
I saw her eyebrows cross in distaste
but before she could even open her mouth
to lecture me on my health
like everybody else I've met
I told her about the death row inmates in Japan
I told her that they have no idea when the date of their execution will be
so they wake up each day wondering
if that was the last time
they've ever opened their eyes
in the morning
I asked her to imagine that I was one of the inmates
The guards would walk in with the execution order right after breakfast
and when they stop at my door
my heart would pound as I hold my breath while looking down the floor
But the guards would move on
because they were looking for inmate 82
and I was inmate 62
And then I asked her
if she would give me an ice cold beer
for everytime I came out alive from that cold staredown with death
She said she would be obliged to serve everyone the first round for free
And then I said
Well, I'm a human being who has not committed any heinous crime but is sentenced to death anyway
We've had our names added on the death row list
before we were even born
which explains why we came out crying from our mothers' wombs
And nothing scares me more
than the thought that this could be the last ice cold beer I could ever hold
I think that's enough reason for me to drink everyday
She grabbed the bottle off my hand
and chugged the damn drink down her throat
-Manganese
