A Good Question

Pedro and me were walking by one of the streets of our neighbourhood when in a corner I see two teenagers who made me feel fear. Their expressions were aggressive and one of them had a metal bar in his right hand. Had I seen them before, I would have changed our direction, but Pedro and me were just there, in an empty street, at 10 metres from these guys. I watched them both intently and went on walking. Half a block ahead a very old man was slowly walking--probably taking his daily walk prescribed by his doctor.

In a fraction of a second my thoughts went from protecting Pedro to protecting the man, from 'they are stronger' to 'I cannot let them hurt either.' Finally I opted to continue walking, faster, and I whispered to Pedro, "please walk faster."

One of the two said to the other in a strong voice, "What about hitting this old man with the bar?"

I was there, without knowing what to do, feeling useless and desperate.

Finally the three of them turned left and I kept walking with Pedro. I quite convinced myself that nothing was going to happen to the old man and kept on walking.

Pedro asked me what had happened, because he didn't get the reason for my hurry and for pressing his hand so hard. I told him what happened and he said, "I wonder how come people become bad, how evil gets into their bodies... because the spirits are good... so I don't understand how evil gets inside them."

I found this question really good. As usual my answer was not half as good as his question. I attempted a social explanation... that some had a hard childhood, with bad parents and much suffering... but ended saying that some people who have a hard childhood become great human beings.

Pedro immediately added, "Because they want to be different than their parents!"

So, one more question from Pedro that goes unanswered and one more question that makes me think and learn too.