Joan sighed. She finished her coffee when James was talking. She called for the attention of one of the waitstaff by raising her hand. She was hoping for a normal conversation. Pity was highly ineffective on her. Joan was only 'nice' and 'intelligent' because she was already cynical and jaded early on, and expected nothing from other people.
"Listen, James. The world doesn't consist of binaries of people above, people below, us and them, those who walk away and those who don't. You're only narrowing your thinking like that."
"Let me ask you a question: what kind of person is the one that doesn't walk away from a situation like that? It probably would be a hero." She leaned towards the waitstaff, and spoke. "An Aperol Spritz, please."
"At the time, you did what you could. Did you desperately believe you could save the woman and enact justice on her assailants? Were you hoping for a saviour or a hero? All you are doing is putting the blame on other people for not acting. Worst of all, you're making assumptions of other people for their inaction. I think it's pointless to try and frame it like that. All I would have done was asked if I had done all that I could at that time."
Her Aperol Spritz came, and so did her lunch. "Thank you."
Joan took a long sip of the tall, orange effervescent liquid.
"Don't dwell on your mistakes. Learn from them and let them make you stronger."
She ate her meal in perfect silence. A twinge of regret coloured her for her lecture, but she said nothing else.
"Listen, James. The world doesn't consist of binaries of people above, people below, us and them, those who walk away and those who don't. You're only narrowing your thinking like that."
"Let me ask you a question: what kind of person is the one that doesn't walk away from a situation like that? It probably would be a hero." She leaned towards the waitstaff, and spoke. "An Aperol Spritz, please."
"At the time, you did what you could. Did you desperately believe you could save the woman and enact justice on her assailants? Were you hoping for a saviour or a hero? All you are doing is putting the blame on other people for not acting. Worst of all, you're making assumptions of other people for their inaction. I think it's pointless to try and frame it like that. All I would have done was asked if I had done all that I could at that time."
Her Aperol Spritz came, and so did her lunch. "Thank you."
Joan took a long sip of the tall, orange effervescent liquid.
"Don't dwell on your mistakes. Learn from them and let them make you stronger."
She ate her meal in perfect silence. A twinge of regret coloured her for her lecture, but she said nothing else.
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