October- Zach sighed

Zach sighed very quietly.

“Why do people think they like truth so much?” He asked no one in particular.

Since No-One-In-Particular was conspicuously absent and Mike was the only other conscious being in the room, he was the one who answered. “Because it’s the truth.”

“Uh-huh,” said Zach skeptically. “Does it even exist?”

“Well theoretically it does.”

“…only in theory.”

“But it’s there.”

“And so people are just in love with this idea?”

“Basically, yeah. I mean it’s not like it’s the first time or anything.”

“It’s just an IDEA. How do people know what the real thing’s like? …how do they know if they’ll LIKE the real…oh…that’s right…they don’t.”

“Yep, good thing the real deal never showed up.”

“So we can keep living with our ideas about other ideas?”

“Of course, people just LOVE their illusions, haven’t you noticed?”

“And this is a good thing…how?”

“It’s not really a ‘good’ thing. It’s just what happens.”

“Ah, right. Well we get happy people. Sort of.”

“Only not.”

“Right.”

Both boys sighed. With Nick out of the conversation, there was nearly an inevitable turn to the gloomier subjects. Neither Mike nor Zach knew if this could be blamed on a subconscious agreement, a certain character deficit, or the fact that they both deviated from the normal sleeping schedule by two hours, in opposite directions. Or perhaps it was the fact that at some levels, both of them felt that Nick was the more sheltered one, despite of the fact that Zach was the one with a stable British upbringing and an only child. The fact remains that neither ever formally broached their more cynical views with their French friend, though language (under the guidance and occasional threats of Mike) was no longer a problem.

Or maybe it was just the fact that Nick liked origami animals and his friends were freaked out by it, which was a possible, though somewhat improbable explanation.

[better much?]