Searching
Ever since I first saw him, he had been searching for something.
I walked up to him and asked:
ME: Stranger, what are you looking for?
STRANGER: I don't know.
ME: Then why are you looking?
STRANGER: Well, I have to find it.
ME: What do you have to find?
STRANGER: Dude, I don't know. If I knew, I'd have told you!
ME: Okay, so why are you hitting me?
STRANGER: Because you're bothering me. You're not letting me search.
ME: It's none of my business. Go on, keep looking.
STRANGER: No, I'm tired. I want to take a break.
STRANGER: What are you doing here?
ME: I'm waiting for someone.
STRANGER: Have you been waiting long?
ME: Yeah, about twenty years.
STRANGER: Are you kidding me?
ME: Swear to God, I'm not.
STRANGER: Damn. You got a cigarette?
ME: No, sorry.
ME: How long have you been searching?
STRANGER: Me too. I've been at it for ages. I've looked everywhere, but it's nowhere to be found.
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ME: Well, what the hell are you looking for?
STRANGER: I told you, I don't know.
ME: Right, sorry. I'd asked you that before.
STRANGER: Who are you waiting for?
ME: I'm waiting for someone.
STRANGER: Don't they have a name?
ME: Of course they do, but I don't know what it is.
STRANGER: So when are they supposed to arrive?
ME: I don't know that either, but they're supposed to come.
STRANGER: Dude, you're wasting your time waiting. If they were going to come, they'd have come by now. You've been waiting for twenty years for nothing!
ME: I've thought about leaving a few times.
STRANGER: Then why didn't you?
ME: Well, I thought maybe they'd show up. You're wasting your time searching, too. If it were going to be found, you'd have found it by now.
STRANGER: Yeah, I've thought about giving up a few times, too.
ME: Then why didn't you?
STRANGER: I thought maybe I'd find it. There are still some places I haven't looked. Where are you going?
ME: I'm going to see if that's the one.
STRANGER:Fine. You're heading that way anyway. Get me a cigarette while you're at it.
«A few minutes later...»
STRANGER: Well? What happened?
ME: That wasn't the one.
STRANGER:No, I meant the cigarette. Did you get it?
ME: No, I forgot. Sorry.
