Good day - A short story from the 'Images from the life of a social sputum' collection
It was one of those walks with a goal: he was going to uni, work, the store, whatever. But it went on as if it wasn't happening. As if he were simply roaming the streets like it lasted forever but had no beginning or end.
He was unaware of his surroundings, aside from a vague sense of his current position relative to the destination.
Because of this, he didn’t notice the older gentleman sitting on the staircase of a grisly-looking building when he wished him a good day. He replied automatically, without thinking and glanced the man briefly. What stopped his walking and his pointless chain of thought, though, was the old man’s next sentence – ‘It’ll only be good if you want it to be.’
Now, even though he always refrained from getting into conversations with strangers, especially if they couldn’t have some sort of meaningful result, he asked the man to explain his unusual remark. The smile on his face was a clear indicator that he could barely hold his excitement as he promptly began.
Here’s the deal, kid. It’s all up to you. If you want something, go out and get it. It’s simple. For example, if you don’t have a job, it’s your job to look for a job eight hours a day. If you’d like a nice girl, go ask that pretty lady over there for the time (a cute blonde standing a few steps away from them looks down and blushes, the old geezer grins – this trick obviously worked more than a few times). You can sit around and complain all day, but if you give, you’ll get. Someone’s keeping score out there, I’m sure of it.
How come? What about the things we can’t control? What if someone’s born sick, if they have an abusive father, if they get hit by a bus? The universe is governed by entropy, it’s in constant chaos and it really makes no difference if you’re human or a mosquito. It doesn’t keep track of what you do, nor does it care enough to even try. It might not be malevolent, but it sure isn’t benevolent, either. It simply doesn’t give a shit. What about entropy?
Hey, kid. With all due respect, cut the crap. It can be done, some people just have to work more, others less. It is what it is. Everyone's problems are the biggest in the world in their opinion, but if everyone just sat and talked shit, where would we be?
Both men are smiling at this point. They respect each other’s views, deeply believe in the own ones, and realize that they can’t convert the other one in their beliefs. They met for the first, and probably last time, which gives the conversation additional value.
Take care.
You too, kid. Don’t give in.