It's Just How We Are
anonymous
October 24 2009, 22:38:01 UTC
I hope it isn't too late to do this, I just saw the thread and it caught my imagination. I apologise in advance for my poor writing skills and any OOCness.
...
Something made Arthur stop and look back. He didn’t know what part of his mind thought that the little girl deserved a second glance. But there she was, dragging her feet along the shady boulevard, her small head bent downwards.
She wasn’t looking where she was going and walked into the path of an oncoming bus. She looked up and froze. And all Arthur could see in that moment was one of his people, such a tiny one too, in danger.
He hurtled back along his route to where she was, and at the last moment, he grabbed her arm and pulled her to safety.
The bus sped past, uncaring of the accident it had almost caused.
Arthur led the girl to a low wall and made her sit on it. She looked to be about ten or eleven, he thought, evidenced by the blue chequered summer dress of the local primary school she wore. Her brown hair was tied back in a plait that was slowly coming undone.
He thought to offer her a drink, but found that all he had on him was brandy.
“Are you alright?” he asked instead.
“I…I…uh,” she stuttered, “what happened?”
“You weren’t looking where you were going.” Arthur tried to sound friendly, but from the way she flinched, he reckoned he’d been unsuccessful.
He sighed and sat down beside her. He tried to recall his days of being a parent and what he would he would’ve done if it’d been Australia or Canada beside him.
Yelled if it were Australia or asked what was troubling him if it been Canada, he supposed. He decided that the latter was the best option.
She seemed reluctant to reply at first but, perhaps as he had just saved her life, she eventually opened up.
“I was thinking, that I would’ve like to have been born somewhere else, in ‘nother country.”
Arthur felt a little of him become cold at that statement. But he had to continue on.
“Why?”
“’Cos then I wouldn’t have to be ashamed of myself.”
Arthur bit his lip, “What’s made you ashamed.”
“Lots of stuff. But today we did the potato famine in school and…and all I could think about was that we didn’t help at all. And we had no good reason not to help.”
Arthur had clenched his fists at that particular memory. He wanted to tell her there had been many good reasons. But he found that her childish logic was so much truer. There had been no good reason. And had he ever apologised to his brother for that?
“Last week we were looking at the Empire and how we made all those people miserable and then we said how we were ‘civilising’ them.” The girl even made quotation marks with her fingers.
Arthur felt his face redden. But the girl wasn’t done tormenting him.
“I got a book out on the history of China once,” her voice got quiet, “and I read about the opium wars and all I wanted to do was wipe my mind clean, ‘cos we must have destroyed them.”
It's Just How We Are (2)
anonymous
October 24 2009, 22:39:36 UTC
Arthur remembered, oh God, he remembered. He had been so consumed by empire lust that he reckoned it must have prevented him really seeing what he was doing. But it still hung in the air between him and Yao and he doubted it would ever go away.
“And Scotland and Wales don’t like us and we share an island.”
That was it, the final blow to his heart. His poor, sainted mother must be looking down on him in disgust.
The small girl hung her head and Arthur mirrored her movements. They must look a right pair, he thought, grown man and small girl - both looking at their feet.
“I just hate it so much, I hate myself.”
“You’re very astute for someone your age, I doubt your friends are thinking about all this stuff…”
“No, but they watch England football matches and are proud of us and I want to yell at them shut up. ‘Cos we’re, like, the scum of the planet.”
Arthur looked her dead in the eye, green like his.
“I understand how you feel, and,” Arthur swallowed, he was going to have to admit some very painful truths, “I’m glad you are willing to look at the past. You shouldn’t be depressed, because now you’ve understood all the bad things we’ve done, you’ll know never to make the mistakes again.”
The girl seemed to have a hard time catching on, her eyes blinking owlishly.
“But, frankly, I think I’ve done a lot of great things. You just have to look.”
“What do you mean ‘I’ve’?”
Arthur stuttered. “I meant we’ve!”
“Whatever.” The girl’s tone, Arthur noted, had changed drastically.
The girl stood up. “Well it was nice meeting you, I guess, thanks for saving me and all that. But I’m late for dinner and we having korma tonight.”
She started to walk off, but then stopped and turned around to face Arthur one last time. The setting sun behind her and a look in her eyes, made her seem to be, in Arthur’s eyes, so old.
“You’re wrong, you know. We won’t learn. It’s a nice little lie you’re believing, but we’re human and we’re all going to go on like this until we destroy ourselves. It‘s just how we are and I hate it.”
…
Notes: As you can see here, I’m not a writer by any stretch of the imagination, I just had to do this.
Anyway, as anon here can testify, the sole purpose of the English schooling system is to give the student a healthy amount of self-hate and self-doubt. The girl in here only touched on a few of the milder subjects we covered (and when you’re calling the potato famine mild, you know you’re in trouble).
And if anyone says ten year olds don’t talk like that, then they don’t know many ten year olds.
Re: It's Just How We Are (2)
anonymous
November 16 2010, 09:16:07 UTC
Oh look an intelligent, soul searching ten year old...FINALLY! Serious how do people not know about these 'rare' types of kids :/ good job anon
I guess thats why history repeats itself also the girl catches on quick! And poor England...;; Hey at least your not in Germany right? They must be have even worse, painful lesson to learn.
Re: It's Just How We Are (2)
anonymous
November 18 2010, 04:09:03 UTC
Americanon is more affected by this one than the America one. Mostly cause I really identify with that little girl.
and I want to yell at them shut up. ‘Cos we’re, like, the scum of the planet.”
I know it's a horrible unhealthy way to feel, but that's how I am when I see people from other countries being sad about 9/11. Take your sympathy elsewhere guys, we don't deserve it.
Re: It's Just How We Are (2)
anonymous
November 2 2011, 01:34:39 UTC
Seconded. I can't even feel anything about 9/11 anymore. It was used for so much propaganda for stupidity/evil, it feels like we insulted everyone who ever supported us. Anon is conservative American veteran.
...
Something made Arthur stop and look back. He didn’t know what part of his mind thought that the little girl deserved a second glance. But there she was, dragging her feet along the shady boulevard, her small head bent downwards.
She wasn’t looking where she was going and walked into the path of an oncoming bus. She looked up and froze. And all Arthur could see in that moment was one of his people, such a tiny one too, in danger.
He hurtled back along his route to where she was, and at the last moment, he grabbed her arm and pulled her to safety.
The bus sped past, uncaring of the accident it had almost caused.
Arthur led the girl to a low wall and made her sit on it. She looked to be about ten or eleven, he thought, evidenced by the blue chequered summer dress of the local primary school she wore. Her brown hair was tied back in a plait that was slowly coming undone.
He thought to offer her a drink, but found that all he had on him was brandy.
“Are you alright?” he asked instead.
“I…I…uh,” she stuttered, “what happened?”
“You weren’t looking where you were going.” Arthur tried to sound friendly, but from the way she flinched, he reckoned he’d been unsuccessful.
He sighed and sat down beside her. He tried to recall his days of being a parent and what he would he would’ve done if it’d been Australia or Canada beside him.
Yelled if it were Australia or asked what was troubling him if it been Canada, he supposed. He decided that the latter was the best option.
She seemed reluctant to reply at first but, perhaps as he had just saved her life, she eventually opened up.
“I was thinking, that I would’ve like to have been born somewhere else, in ‘nother country.”
Arthur felt a little of him become cold at that statement. But he had to continue on.
“Why?”
“’Cos then I wouldn’t have to be ashamed of myself.”
Arthur bit his lip, “What’s made you ashamed.”
“Lots of stuff. But today we did the potato famine in school and…and all I could think about was that we didn’t help at all. And we had no good reason not to help.”
Arthur had clenched his fists at that particular memory. He wanted to tell her there had been many good reasons. But he found that her childish logic was so much truer. There had been no good reason. And had he ever apologised to his brother for that?
“Last week we were looking at the Empire and how we made all those people miserable and then we said how we were ‘civilising’ them.” The girl even made quotation marks with her fingers.
Arthur felt his face redden. But the girl wasn’t done tormenting him.
“I got a book out on the history of China once,” her voice got quiet, “and I read about the opium wars and all I wanted to do was wipe my mind clean, ‘cos we must have destroyed them.”
Reply
“And Scotland and Wales don’t like us and we share an island.”
That was it, the final blow to his heart. His poor, sainted mother must be looking down on him in disgust.
The small girl hung her head and Arthur mirrored her movements. They must look a right pair, he thought, grown man and small girl - both looking at their feet.
“I just hate it so much, I hate myself.”
“You’re very astute for someone your age, I doubt your friends are thinking about all this stuff…”
“No, but they watch England football matches and are proud of us and I want to yell at them shut up. ‘Cos we’re, like, the scum of the planet.”
Arthur looked her dead in the eye, green like his.
“I understand how you feel, and,” Arthur swallowed, he was going to have to admit some very painful truths, “I’m glad you are willing to look at the past. You shouldn’t be depressed, because now you’ve understood all the bad things we’ve done, you’ll know never to make the mistakes again.”
The girl seemed to have a hard time catching on, her eyes blinking owlishly.
“But, frankly, I think I’ve done a lot of great things. You just have to look.”
“What do you mean ‘I’ve’?”
Arthur stuttered. “I meant we’ve!”
“Whatever.” The girl’s tone, Arthur noted, had changed drastically.
The girl stood up. “Well it was nice meeting you, I guess, thanks for saving me and all that. But I’m late for dinner and we having korma tonight.”
She started to walk off, but then stopped and turned around to face Arthur one last time. The setting sun behind her and a look in her eyes, made her seem to be, in Arthur’s eyes, so old.
“You’re wrong, you know. We won’t learn. It’s a nice little lie you’re believing, but we’re human and we’re all going to go on like this until we destroy ourselves. It‘s just how we are and I hate it.”
…
Notes:
As you can see here, I’m not a writer by any stretch of the imagination, I just had to do this.
Anyway, as anon here can testify, the sole purpose of the English schooling system is to give the student a healthy amount of self-hate and self-doubt. The girl in here only touched on a few of the milder subjects we covered (and when you’re calling the potato famine mild, you know you’re in trouble).
And if anyone says ten year olds don’t talk like that, then they don’t know many ten year olds.
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I guess thats why history repeats itself also the girl catches on quick! And poor England...;; Hey at least your not in Germany right? They must be have even worse, painful lesson to learn.
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and I want to yell at them shut up. ‘Cos we’re, like, the scum of the planet.”
I know it's a horrible unhealthy way to feel, but that's how I am when I see people from other countries being sad about 9/11. Take your sympathy elsewhere guys, we don't deserve it.
But yeah, I just want to hug the both of them.
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