"Innocent aren't they?"

My encounter with Holden was very strange, and yet serene. It started off like this:

I was walking down the streets of New York it almost seemed as if the streets were interminable:

I heard this music coming from a distance, the laughs and screams of children having fun. I keep walking towards the music and it gets louder and louder. I crossed the block and there it was, a carrousel.

 I stayed there for a while looking at it, reminding me of my childhood. Then this team clad in preppy clothes says to me:

 “Innocent aren’t they?”

 I didn’t feel like talking to such a strange person, but I responded to him anyways, to not be rude. Then we started talking about children and how fast they grow and turn into adults. But then he says to me,

“I wish they would stay like that forever and not turn into the phonies we are today”.

I knew then, something was wrong with him, he was no ordinary seventeen year old, he has been through excruciating times. Next he pulls out a cigarette and starts smoking and asks me if I want to get a drink with him. I rebuffed his invitation by saying no thanks and that I was coming from there, but that was a lie.

I said that because this guy is very nuts, because he told me that he flunked out of three schools and that he is avoiding going back home. I was a sage compared to him, then apparently his little sister appears well, see you around, in a concise manner and walks away.

I don’t know what happened afterwards; hopefully he went home and went for help. I felt bad for him, I honestly did. I think it’s going to take time of resilience to get normal again. The only thing I can say is “what a spontaneous person.”