It always seemed incredible how fast time moved when one was deep in thought. As he walked around the festival, it wasn't until the sun blinded him from the east that Joli realized just how late it was getting. It seemed before he set out that the sun hadn't even reached its full height in the sky. After he was full from food, Joli had left the cafe and had begun observing those in town. He often found himself doing this, but on days of celebration, it was considerably more entertaining. There was the constant look of defeat on the kids faces as they tried endlessly to win prizes at the game stands. There was the strange multiplication of couples around town, all stuck in a trance based on ceaseless eye contact. There were the screams from small children on the faster rides, usually followed by the click, click, click of parents' cameras. There was the myriad of sales pitches flying at lightening speed from the mouths of vendors trying to sell their products.
And those were only the good things.
There was also this universal lack of discretion by the adults underlined by the prodigal use of alcohol and food, and it truly sickened him. It was like watching the worse contender on the biggest loser splurge unnecessarily on grease and butter; unsightly in the least. Still, it was no use complaining, as that was how it had invariably been. Regardless, ripped from his thoughts by the sun, Joli felt the imminent return home settle on his body as he was suddenly shaken by screams.
Somehow, heavily concentrated, he had missed the smell of soot and burning until he turned to face the direction of the scream. Shocked by the size and seemingly sudden appearance of flames, Joli sprung too almost naturally as his feet pulled him straight into the furnace, as they say. Quickly shuffling past panicking citizens, Joli could see the fear and mistrust on their faces, saying clearly, in his mind, that none of them were going to stop to provide aid. A bit distraught, Joli, in that moment decided to only think about what he could do, and ignore that no one might be their to support his efforts. Just as he had made up his mind, he caught a glimpse of a man trapped under chunks of a fallen sign, and changed tilt to help. As he got within reach, he saw that another boy, around his age, had already begun an attempt to lift the metal and wood away, but could only do so much. Grabbing onto the other edge, he helped successfully lift the debris up, but it wouldn't be enough without someone else to drag the man out!