"STOP THE WORLD I WANT TO GET OFF!"

Joshua got onto his soapbox and held up his sign:

“STOP THE WORLD I WANT TO GET OFF”

The message was clear; at least to him, it was. “I don’t want to live anymore," he proclaimed to the passersby.

A couple of people heard his plea; he saw them looking at him. He wondered how many people would stop to listen to what he had to say. Already, people were smirking as they read the sign and kept walking. He could read their minds – “Crazy bastard, get a job, get a life!”

“I am not here to sell anything. Not selling religion, just expressing my thoughts. “ Want to die, I want the world to stop so I can get off.”

He felt the words sink in. A couple of people stopped, curious about what he had to say, and had the time to stop and listen.

“Aren’t you appalled? Aren’t you worried about the state of the world?” he asked, the question, but he did not expect a reply.

From the corner of his eye, a man dressed in shabby clothing nodded his head in approval. Joshua seized the opportunity. “You, sir, do you worry about the world?” he asked, looking him right in the eye.

“I have no world,” he replied. “I went and fought for my country and you people so that we could live in peace. When I came back, I was treated like scum, and I have been living on the streets for the last twenty years.”

His word hit home with several of the people who had paused to listen.

“Exactly my point," continued Joshua. "Look at this man, look at what he gave up, and we have rewarded him. Do you think the politicians who sent him off to war while they sat in their cozy offices?”

"Do you think about today's wayward youth? They steal cars for fun and attack innocent people for a few dollars. Then they often get off with just a slap on the wrist. What does this say about the man and his sacrifice?"

“No. They don’t?” “What has gone wrong with the world?”

“We call ourselves the superior race. What a joke! Animals have more genuine feelings than we do.”

“How many of you have been cheated or wronged by a big company? Have you ever been forced to do something that didn’t feel right?" asked Joshua, trying to engage others. Five people put up their hands.

"How many of you believe in the war in Gaza? Russia's actions against Ukraine, or daily poverty in Africa and India, are justified?"

People started to shake their heads in disapproval.

“Exactly,” replied Joshua, “Now, how many of you do something about it, how many of you can do anything about? We're all so focused on our busy lives that we forget about others. We ignore the damage we're causing to our land."

“What are we meant to do?” asked a middle-aged lady in the front row.

Joshua paused. He lowered his head and said, “I don’t know; that's why I want the world to stop.”

“We have become so aggressive and impatient; violence is everywhere. These days, people show their anger by throwing glass bottles and rocks at police. The police are there to protect innocent people who are just going about their lives. The irony is that they are protesting for peace!” Joshua let this sink in.

“For peace,” he repeated. "An unacceptable number of these people probably go home and abuse or bash their partners. The very people they profess to love. Even worse, they abuse innocent children or innocent animals that have done nothing.”

The small crowd, ten or so people who had gathered, became somber with these words.

“That is why I want the world to stop so I can get off. I don’t know what to do, but I know I can't take it anymore.”

From the corner of his eye, Joshua saw a policeman and a policewoman coming towards him. His time was up. He had expected this to occur.

“Thank you for listening. Think about my words.”

There was a short but eerie silence as the police led Joshua away with his sign in tow.

One man started clapping—another, and then another. Soon, almost everyone was clapping. But three youths standing on their skateboards, vaping the latest trendy vape, did not join in. They were laughing, amused by the whole show.

It was a vote of confidence—a plea to the police officers to be gentle with him.

The man who had started the clapping walked off with his partner. “He has a good point, you know.” “I wish I could stop the world sometimes just to take stock of how we're stuffing it up.”

Till next time,

Calvin

Submitted for ViMs July prompt: