It does not Matter by Liubomyr Vovnianko

 – “It does not matter.

You cannot change the human being, or the purpose of their life. There are some things, with which you should obey, accept them…

…or just suffer.”

The adult adjusted his exemplary tie, nervously rubbing his eye. Actually, it was physically difficult to listen to them. There was a hint of irritation and even anxiety in the tone of their voice.

The little prince looked at him with his deep sad eyes.

– “But…what if I just try?”

– “I do not care,” the adult replied, almost interrupting. “Respect my experience and the dogmas that I represent, that I carry on my back like a burden to give this knowledge to you! You will fail, that is all. You should not even try. To be honest, there is some chance of victory, but it is just a ‘is’, because without ‘is’ there is no ‘is not’, you see? However, you will most likely lose, and the level of probability in the term ‘most likely’ is so high, up to 99.7 percent exactly. As I said, you should not even waste your time, go with the flow, with the system, and do not ask unnecessary, stupid, and generally unhelpful questions.”

The adult looked pleased with their teachings. It seemed that they even began to recall some of their own memories, perhaps of a similar episode in which they themselves played the role of another actor, another ‘mask’(‘persona’).

– “Fear. I do feel fear in your words, which you try to say so confidently,” the prince said. Surprisingly, the adult’s words did not hurt him. “Don't you see how snobbish and pedantic you look? Who clipped your wings? Your despondency is so great that it touches the horizons of absurdity, from which you draw your inspiration. You disgust me.” Final disappointment filled the naive boy’s heart, tore it apart…

– “Enough!”

The adult looked miserable in the sunset. Their face was reddened, they felt ashamed of their own being, but they could not show it, let alone admit it. Their nervousness now began to manifest itself in unconscious tics of the lower limbs.

– “You think you know something? Do you think this world is still worth something? Do you think you can still win? That is ridiculous! Now you are wasting not only your time, but also the time of serious people like me!”

The intention to end the conversation was evident in the adult’s eyes. Their body language has already indicated that they have already lost interest.

– Never lose your sense of wonder,” the Little Prince said. “You represent the lack of Will, the weakness of your Spirit, the triumph of passivity!......”

Without listening to the little boy's words, the adult left, in fact, ran away from the place of conversation. Only the echo of quick footsteps could be heard echoing across the ancient cobblestones in the distance.

   Disbelief…
       Despair…    Death.