The Circle

A short allegory to represent the "circle of life."

The Circle

Duncan Lowell was walking.

They all walked.

The circle was either was very large, or possibly very small.

It was difficult to tell.

Duncan Lowell would sometimes see the same people in the circle.

There was a man named Lewis Winter. He had once walked all the way across the circle and back.

“Did you enjoy yourself?” Duncan Lowell had asked him.

“I would have,” Lewis Winter had said, “If I only knew what that meant.”

Duncan Lowell was a very serious man. He didn’t have time to walk across the circle and back, like Lewis Winter did­.

Duncan Lowell mostly walked. Sometimes he didn’t, but usually he did. That was, after all, what everybody else was doing.

Some people left the circle. Duncan Lowell had occasionally considered leaving the circle, but he was rather hesitant. After all, once you left the circle, you were never allowed back in�"and so, there was no way of knowing what was outside of the circle�"and so, most people didn’t leave.

Duncan Lowell would often have conversations with other people inside the circle.

There was this man that Duncan Lowell rather liked to have conversations with. He was a very sensible person, unlike Lewis Winter. That man’s name was Samuel Wells.

The conversations were ordinarily very pleasant.

“Hello, Duncan Lowell,” Samuel Wells would say.

“Hello, Samuel Wells,” Duncan Lowell would reply. “How are things going?”

“Oh, well, you know,” Samuel Wells would say. Duncan Lowell hadn’t been aware that he knew; but if Samuel Wells said he knew, he must know. Duncan Lowell didn’t really know what knowing was, exactly, so the whole thing was entirely too complicated.

Samuel Wells was a very polite person. They would sometimes walk together, in the circle. Samuel Wells was always very grateful for the circle.

“This circle is the most beautiful circle ever created,” Samuel Wells often said. “It’s certainly the most beautiful circle I’ve ever come into contact with. It’s a lovely place to walk.”

Duncan Lowell once asked, “Have you ever come into contact with another circle?”

Samuel Wells had given him a very disagreeable look, and Duncan Lowell had immediately felt guilty. He was lucky that any circle existed at all, especially a circle as nice for walking as the one they were in.

Duncan Lowell usually agreed with Samuel Wells. It was good to have pleasant conversations with people.

Occasionally, Duncan Lowell would speak with a man named Jay Dannager.

Duncan Lowell didn’t like speaking with Jay Dannager. He always seemed indifferent to whether or not they had pleasant conversations.

“How are things going?” Duncan Lowell would ask.

Jay Dannager was very unpredictable. Things would be going very differently every time�"and sometimes Jay Dannager would produce very disturbing answers.

“I’m getting tired of walking,” he told Duncan Lowell on one occasion. “Do you ever tire of walking?”

Duncan Lowell thought about it for a moment, then replied, “Why, there’s nothing else to do!”

“Yes, but do you tire of it?” Jay Dannager asked.

“I don’t suppose so,” Duncan Lowell replied weakly, as the conversation was making him rather upset. “Walking is what we do in the circle.”

Jay Dannager then stated, “I’ve been thinking about leaving the circle.”

Duncan Lowell shuddered. “Oh, you shouldn’t do that!”

“Why not?” Jay Dannager replied.

“Because…it’d be a waste!” Duncan Lowell replied.

“A waste of what?”

“Why, a waste of the circle!” Duncan Lowell often got frustrated with Jay Dannager.

One day, while Duncan Lowell was passing the time walking around the circle, he noticed Jay Dannager walk straight into Samuel Wells. The foolish man hadn’t even been paying attention.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Samuel Wells demanded.

Jay Dannager looked around himself in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“You walked right into me,” Samuel Wells accused him.

 “I thought the circle was for walking,” Jay Dannager said.

“I demand that you apologize,” roared Samuel Wells, certain that Jay Dannager was being intentionally insolent.

“For walking?”

“Into me.”

“I’m sorry,” Jay Dannager said, although he didn’t seem to understand in the least what he was apologizing for. Then he shuffled off with his hands in his pockets.

Samuel Wells walked over to Duncan Lowell. “Did you see that?” he demanded.

“It’s an outrage,” Duncan Lowell said tonelessly. It really was. It was a complete outrage. After this incident, Duncan Lowell ceased to think about Jay Dannager except with a pleasant, detached sense of pity. It was good to feel an appropriate amount of pity, but not too much pity. He had to focus on walking, after all.

However, there was one incident in particular that disturbed Duncan Lowell most enormously. He had been minding his own business�"walking, like usual�"when he suddenly saw Jay Dannager running towards him at a most alarming rate. Running was considered incredibly rude in the circle, seeing as the circle was for walking, and Duncan Lowell regarded him with a very disapproving expression. However, to his great annoyance, Jay Dannager�"fool that he was�"did not seem to notice his discontent. Instead, he ran right up to Duncan Lowell and clasped onto his arm.

Duncan Lowell was horrified. It was one thing, he supposed, to walk into another by accident�"that could be attributed to absentmindedness, alone�"but to clasp another intentionally? Duncan Lowell was so shocked he was unable to move in retaliation.

“Do you ever think about footprints?” demanded Jay Dannager, regarding Duncan Lowell with an intensity that was certainly inappropriate for the circle.

“Wh-what?” Duncan Lowell sputtered.

“Your footprints,” Jay Dannager. “What happens to them? Are they erased? Swept away? They must get swept away, don’t you think?”

Duncan Lowell was incredibly frightened. “There are no footprints in the circle,” he said eventually, at a complete loss for understanding.

Jay Dannager released his arm. “Right,” he said. “Of course not. I’m sorry.”

Soon after that, Duncan Lowell heard from Samuel Wells that Jay Dannager had left the circle. “I can’t say I’m sorry,” Samuel Wells said. “He was incapable of carrying on a pleasant conversation.”

Duncan Lowell was obliged to agree.

Author's Note

I'd be very interested to hear what you think the intended message was. Also, you should totally review, because you would be validating your existence on the planet by interacting with another person. You DO want a validated existence, don't you?