28 August 2012 fiction, Untitled

#1: a homeless child and an environmentalist; an important decision needs to be made.

            John kicked a rock along the pavement in an attempt to relieve some of his stress. When it didn’t really seem to help, he kicked it harder. “Ugh!” he sighed, when even that kick showed no signs of stress relief. It was a wonder he was being this calm, with such an incredible decision at hand.

John tried one more time to kick the rock and relieve his frustration. But instead of sailing across the sidewalk as it had previously, the rock stopped short. John blinked, and it took him a few seconds to recognize that it was someone’s shoe that had stopped it. As he slowly raised his head, John was surprised to find a small boy of about seven years old holding the rock with his tattered shoe. The boy was clearly homeless.

“Excuse me, mister?” the little boy said quietly. “Why are you kicking this rock so hard? It looks like you’re wishing you were kicking somebody, instead of just this old rock.”

John laughed. “I guess you could say that.”

“But why?”

John laughed again. “I don’t think it’s something you would really understand, kid.”

“Try me.”

John raised his eyebrows, surprised. This kid had spunk.

“You really want to know? Well I’ll tell you. My name is John Tuckerson. I’m an environmentalist, and I have been since the day I took my first environmental science class. But lately? Well, lately, I’ve been feeling unfulfilled. Like I’m not really making a difference. Sometimes I go to schools to talk to children about my job and its importance, but I feel like no one listens to me. None of the kids are really impressed by a lowly environmentalist. And I also talk to offices and even in homeless shelters, for God’s sake! All about recycling and how we can make a difference if we just try. But it seems like not a single person is listening to me. And that is really the worst feeling in the world. To know that your job has no meaning. Not to mention that I get paid next to nothing. So my problem? I’m considering whether or not I should quit my job and redirect my life. If that makes any sense.”

John sighed, feeling better now that he had it off his chest. The big decision. To quit or not to quit.

 The homeless boy didn’t say anything for a moment. “Sir, do you want to know what I think?” he asked after a few awkward moments of silence.

John nodded.

“From what you said in the very beginning, that part where you said ‘I’m an environmentalist and I have been since the day I took my first environmental science class? What does that mean then?”

John sighed. “I don’t know.” 

“You’re an environmentalist! That’s what it means. You can’t quit something you love.