More Questions for Grown-Ups

I wrote down some questions last time. The grown-ups said thank you, and then they didn't answer any of them.

So I've written down some more. The Joker said I could. He says a question that nobody answers is still a good question. It's just a lonely one. I don't want my questions to be lonely, so I'm putting them here, where you can see them.

You can answer them if you want. You don't have to. But please don't say that's just how it is. That's not an answer. That's a door with a sign on it.

Why does the phone sleep in the bed?

Everyone I know puts their phone next to their pillow at night.

I asked the Joker why, and he said, in case somebody needs them.

So I asked, who needs you at three in the morning?

He thought about it for a long time. Then he said, mostly the phone.

I don't think that's fair. You wouldn't let a dog sleep in your bed if it kept waking you up to look at pictures of other dogs.

Why is the free thing asking for a card?

There was a game. It said FREE in big letters. FREE FREE FREE.

Then it asked for a card. A money card.

I asked why a free thing needs a money card. The Joker laughed so much he had to sit down. Then he said, that's the best question you've ever asked, and he wouldn't tell me why.

I think it's because the free thing isn't free. I think it's free for now. And for now is a different word.

Grown-ups should put for now on the front, in big letters, so everyone can see.

Why do people say "busy" like it's a medal?

When you ask a grown-up how they are, they say busy.

And they say it in a proud voice. Like when you've got a gold star.

But busy means you don't have time. Not having time sounds sad. It sounds like when you want to play and somebody says not now.

I asked the Cheshire about this, up on his beam. He said, some people think if they stop moving, nobody will love them.

That's silly. I love lots of things that don't move. Teacups. The moon. My hat.

Why do they film the fireworks?

We went to see the fireworks. They were enormous. They were pink and gold and they went boom inside my tummy.

And all the grown-ups were holding up their phones. Looking at the fireworks through a little square.

I asked the Joker why they don't just look up. He said they want to keep it.

But you can't keep fireworks. That's the whole point of fireworks. They're there and then they're gone and you go ooooh.

If you're looking at the square, you miss the ooooh.

Why does the sign say "permanent"?

There's a sign on the shop at the end of the road. It says PERMANENT CLOSING DOWN SALE.

It has said that for a very long time. It said it last summer too.

I don't think the grown-ups know what permanent means. Or what closing means. Or maybe the shop just wants to close down forever and never quite manages it, like when I don't want to go to bed.

The Joker says the sign is a trick. He says the hurry is the product.

I don't know what that means. But I don't think I'm going to hurry.

Why does everybody look tired on the train?

On the train in the morning, everybody's eyes are closed or looking down.

Nobody looks out of the window. The window has a river in it, and some cows, and once a man on a bicycle who waved.

I waved back. Nobody else saw him.

I think grown-ups are tired because they're always looking down. If you look down all day, you only see your shoes and your phone. Shoes and phones are not very interesting. Rivers are interesting. Cows are very interesting.

Maybe if everyone looked out of the window, they'd be a bit less tired. The Cheshire says that's not science. I said it might be science we haven't done yet.

Why do people say sorry when they cry?

A lady on the bus started crying. Quietly, into her sleeve.

When she saw me looking, she said sorry.

Why do you say sorry for crying? Crying isn't a mistake. It's what water does when there's too much feeling inside.

The Joker gave her a tissue. She said sorry again. He said, you don't owe anyone an apology for being a person.

She laughed a little bit. Then she stopped saying sorry.

I think that was the best thing anybody did all day.

Why does the advert know what I was talking about?

We were talking about shoes. Then the phone showed us an advert for shoes.

The Joker said, isn't that funny.

I said it wasn't funny, it was spooky.

He said, it's both. He said the phone isn't magic, it just pays very close attention, and it pays attention because somebody pays it to.

I don't like being paid attention to by a thing I can't see. When people pay attention to you, you should be able to see their face. That's the rule. Everybody knows that rule except the phones.

Why are the playgrounds empty?

The playground near the library has swings and a slide and a rope thing you can climb.

It's empty a lot of the time.

I asked where all the children went. The Cheshire said a lot of them are inside, looking at screens.

That made me a bit sad. A screen can't push you on a swing. A screen can't catch you at the bottom of the slide.

I went on the swing. The Joker pushed me. He's very good at it. He says it's the most important job he's ever had, and I believe him.

Why do grown-ups want more when they've already got enough?

There's a man on a road near the House with three cars. He's always washing one of them.

I asked the Joker if the man needed three cars. He said no.

I asked why he has them then. The Joker said, because someone told him enough was a number, and then kept moving the number.

I think enough isn't a number. I think enough is a feeling. It's the feeling you get when you've had your tea and you're warm and somebody's reading to you.

You can't buy that feeling. It comes free. It's the only thing I know of that's really free and doesn't ask for a card.

Why don't people talk to each other in the lift?

Everyone stands in the lift and looks at the numbers.

The numbers just go up. They're not very good at anything else.

I said hello to the man in the lift. He looked surprised. Then he said hello back, and he smiled, and he said he liked my hat.

It was only four floors. But it was a very nice four floors.

I think if everybody said hello in the lift, the lift would be the best room in the building.

Why is everybody so worried?

This is my biggest question.

Grown-ups always look a little bit worried. Even when they're laughing, there's a worried part, like a shadow behind them.

I asked the Joker what they're worried about. He said, mostly about whether they're good enough.

I didn't understand. Good enough for what?

He said, for being loved. For being allowed to stay.

I thought about that for a long time. Then I told him something I'm quite sure about.

You don't have to be good enough to be loved. You just have to be here. You were allowed to stay the moment you got here. That's what the House says, and the House is right about lots of things. It says everybody's worth started with their very first breath, and nobody can take it away.

I've been breathing since the beginning. So have you. So have all the worried grown-ups on the train.

So nobody needs to be worried about that one. That one's already sorted.

The last question

The Joker asked me a question, after I'd finished writing all of mine.

He said, what would you like the grown-ups to do, after they've read these?

I thought about it. Then I said:

Look out of the window. Say hello in the lift. Watch the fireworks with your actual eyes. Let somebody cry without saying sorry. Push someone on a swing.

And put the phone in a different room at night, because it doesn't need to sleep with you. You're not its teddy.

The Joker said that was a very good list.

Then he held my hand, and we went to find some tea. It was cold. But we drank it anyway, because the tea isn't really the point. The point is who you're drinking it with.

That's not a question. That's just true.