The city with no voices
Dustin came home from school, threw his backpack on the floor and sat on the bed. He was sad. "Worst. Day. Ever." Some bullies humiliated him in front of the whole school just because he is not into sports and he prefers a book instead of football. He looked under the bed searching for his favorite comic book, but instead he found his father's old Game Boy. Dustin smirked. "Is this piece of junk still working?" He cleaned off the dust and pressed the power button. The screen blinked and showed this message - SYSTEM ERROR:2100.LH2801 Welcome, Dustin!
A cold wind entered the room. Like the breeze came from a different place. Dustin blinked for a second and suddenly he realized his room was gone. He stood in the middle of a huge bright city with big skyscrapers, large streets, no parks and lights everywhere. The people walked in silence. They had glowing green glasses and blue gloves. Their hands were moving in the air like they were scroling Youtube or TikTok and some were typing in the air. Everyone was walking in a straight line in complete silence - even the kids! Dustin was shocked to see that no one was talking or interacting. He tried to ask a passerby what was happening and where he was. Everyone ignored him. He was one girl drop her plushy toy on the floor. She didn't stop and just kept going. Dustin picked up the toy: "Hey! You dropped this!"The girl stood silent. Dustin tried to give the toy back. The girl said: "I don't need it, leave me alone ", and she walked away. Everyone looked like zombies. "What's wrong with this place?" Dustin thought to himself. Dustin decided to move away from the crowd and find a quieter place. He walked for a while trying to understand this place when he saw an old man sitting on a bench. The man had no glasses. He was not swiping. Just sitting and reading an old manga. Dustin stopped. It was strange seeing an old man reading mangas. "Hello, sir." The man raised his eyes and replied "That is a rare sound - a voice."
Dustin: " May I ask why are you not like them?"
Old man: " Because I remember the old times before everyone let technology take over their lives. People were happier then. You know we didn't have all this technology - no phones at school, no Internet. We would run, play cards, ride bikes and go on adventures. Nowadays no one knows what a card looks like."
The old man was still talking when a small boy started to cry. The boy had tripped and scrapped his knees. There were many people around the boy but no one noticed the boy crying and no one cared. Dustin went over to him and asked "Are you okay?" . The boy nodded. Dustin took a Mars chocolate bar out of his pocket and gave it to the kid and said "This has instant healing powers. Side effects include smiling and feeling happy. " The little boy started to laugh out loud. People around them stopped swiping. Some even took off their glasses. A child laughing was a rare sound. Everything started glitching and the old man shouted "Goodbye, Dustin! Don't ever change - stay kind!". Dustin said with a glitchy voice " How do you know my name?"
It all went black and the next moment he was again on his bed in his room.
"Was I dreaming or was it real?" He honestly didn't know. The next morning Dustin went to school. He knew the bullies would be there too. The bullies were making fun of another boy, a friend of Dustin's. His name was Lux. For a second he was relieved he was not the target. He almost walked by but then he remembered; the city, the silence, the people who did nothing to help the boy. He walked over to Lux and said loudly " Leave him alone!" The bullies laughed and started calling both boys names. This time Dustin wasn't afraid. Soon the bullies got bored and walked away because their mean words had no effect or power over Dustin anymore. Lux said thank you and Dustin smiled. In that moment Dustin realized something important. Kindness isn't always easy, sometimes it can be hard or scary too. A small act of kindness can change someone's life. He remembered the old man on the bench and thought - maybe that was me. He laughed. That day Dustin decided to try and do acts of kindness every day even if it was a little bit scary. Being kind doesn't cost you anything but to someone else it can mean everything.