Patrick stood in the rain waiting for the bus one stormy night. While he waited under the stoop of the bus stop, a man and woman approached to take shelter beside him. The three of them stood in silence as they waited for the bus when suddenly Patrick noticed the man kick the woman in the shin.
“Ow,” she said quietly, and then the two stood in silence once more. Thinking this was an accident, Patrick minded his business and kept his head down. A few seconds later, however, the man once again kicked the woman in the shin.
“Ow,” she said once more. Patrick looked worriedly at the man, trying to understand what was going on. The man didn’t seem to think he had done anything wrong and continued standing dutifully next to the woman.
Another thump.
“Ow!” she said again, louder this time.
“I’m sorry, what is going on over here,” Patrick asked, beginning to get angry. “Are you okay ma’am?”
“Oh, thank you for your concern,” she responded cheerfully. “You’re so sweet.”
“So you’re just okay with this?” asked Patrick.
“Oh no, I’m not,” the woman replied, smiling. “I don’t like it at all.” Patrick hesitated, unsure of what to say, then exasperatedly turned away from the couple, confused but resigned. Until he heard it once more.
“Ouch!” the woman exclaimed. Patrick turned sharply and approached the man who had now four times kicked this woman in the shin.
“Why are you kicking her?” he asked furiously.
“I’m not,” the man replied, “I’ve done nothing wrong.”
“I saw you do it,” said Patrick, bewildered, “repeatedly!”
“No you haven’t,” the man replied, “you’ve no proof.”
Patrick felt as though he were going insane. The woman seemed to heed no mind to the conversation, she simply stood and waited with a smile. Patrick bitterly returned to his place under the bus stop stoop and took out his phone to tell a friend about what he had just experienced. As he typed, out of the corner of his eye he saw the man squat low to the ground and inspect the woman’s shin closely. Patrick quickly switched his phone to camera mode and waited, assuming another injury would occur. Suddenly, the man stood upright and kicked the bruise that had been forming on the woman’s leg, as if to really make her suffer, and she let out the loudest “ouch” of the evening. Patrick snapped a photo just in time.
“Here!” Patrick shouted, “I have proof right here!” The man examined the photo with a scrutinous glance.
“Okay,” said the man, “that’s me. That’s proof.”
“Does that mean you’ll stop now?” Patrick asked. “She is clearly in pain and you're clearly the one causing it.” The man paused, considering Patrick’s words and looking at the tears welling up in the woman’s eyes.
“No, I don’t think I will,” responded the man, finally. “It's too late now, it already happened.” Patrick began to seethe.
“What do you mean it's too late? You could get her an ice pack, or take her to the doctor, or, I don’t know, stop kicking her in the shin!”
“But, if I were to do those things, I wouldn’t get all the benefits that come from kicking her in the shin.”
“What benefits could you possibly reap from this situation?!” Patrick asked, practically screaming.
“Well,” the man began, “me and my buddies all enjoy kicking and we already kicked this lady once, so we figured, let’s keep it going. We’ve got a lot of money tied up in this.” Patrick stood in silence for a moment, absorbing what he had just heard.
“This situation sounds like it's only beneficial for you and your buddies,” he responded.
“Yeah. And?” said the man.
Patrick finally resigned himself. The three stood in silence once more as the rain pelted down around them. Once again, Patrick heard a quiet thud and an exclamation of pain. He felt deep down that there was nothing he could do about it.
“Why do you let him do this to you?” Patrick asked the woman. She hesitated, then smiled with tears still in her eyes.
“It’s good for the economy.”
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