At The Watchmaker's

• So, you want to fix this?
• No sir, I would like to get it fixed, thank you!
• What did I say?( Al Zahaimar's?)
• If I wanted to fix it, what possibly would I be doing here sir? I would fix it probably at home, and since I do not have the slightest idea how to even attempt to fix it, I am here.
• You have a way of saying things son.
• Thank you for noticing that and pointing it out to me sir, up to now, I thought words simply flow out of my mouth involuntarily,
• (is this an alien kid) (he doesn't seem to understand a word I say, maybe he is just being raised by smartmouth parents and only copying them) (you know, imitating them, or maybe his teachers, at  least one teacher, who thinks he’s super smart) or maybe someone else?! Whom do kids idealize nowadays? Movie stars? Superheroes? Ah, an app I would say! Some super smart applications. Wait a minute, how do I know that? I am not supposed to know that at my age? I really sometimes surprise myself. Anyhow, what now? Do I like this kid or do I hate him? I don’t know yet. Let me push him a little bit further and see what comes out of him. 
• Anyway, it’ll cost you 20 bucks.
• What’s wrong with it sir?
• I don’t know yet, but fixing this type of thing usually costs around 20 bucks.
• Ok. Here you are sir and thank you for your service.
•  You know, someone may consider it rude to keep correcting older people. Not necessarily me, but someone for sure.

The boy will definitely say: well, not me sir. And may also add some other person’s smart saying to it, just to support his position, like: “it’s never wrong to do the right thing” man this kid is a pain in the neck! Or maybe elsewhere too.

Come to think of it, why would a child his age talk like that? Why am I even thinking about that? Why is it at all an issue? Well, because it’s not usual. It’s that simple. This kid's not alright! Let me cautiously investigate this, I don't want to scare him away. 

• Well, what seems to be wrong with it? It looks fine to me. 
• It’s not functioning properly sir.
• (why does this kid keep calling me sir? Too young to have served in the army! And I can easily bet my precious watch that he has never been to a job interview yet!) just weird! Did he just drop out of the beginning of the 20th century? Time machine?! Come on, get real old boy!) 
• maybe , it’s the way it’s supposed to be functioning, or maybe you don’t know how to operate it well? 
• I don’t think it’s either option sir. 
• (hold it! What did the kid just say?) I don’t think it’s either option sir?! Is this grammatically correct? Is it somehow wrong? Come on, think!

Think of words. Think of the very first people who ever used words! 

You can’t think of it like that. It’s a very slow process, it takes a very long time. Probably started by someone uttering a certain pattern of sounds while pointing at something and someone else close by figured out that the first person was referring to the thing being pointed at. Yes, but to associate that pattern of sounds (voice) with a thing?! How did it occur to them?! The whole process must have been repeated a million times before it became a habit! You can’t imagine that, because you’re not imaginative enough. As I told you, it’s a very slow thing, it takes years and years, eons. For a complete and comprehensive system of signaling by what we now call words you need time and lots of it son, it doesn’t happen overnight.

• And all have to agree?
• On what? 
• On the meanings?
• Of what?
• Of words?
• That’s a given!
• By whom?
• What do you mean?
• Given by whom?
• Boy oh boy! 
• Mutual consent!
• You’re joking?
• Yes!
• How is it then? How did the first two tribes communicate when they met for the very first time?
• They didn’t. They probably fought against each other. Most probably each thought that the other was barbaric and mute!
• Mute?
• Yes, mute, as in dumb, tongue-tied, you know.
• How is that? 

Mumbling and murmuring, that’s how they heard the other tribe's speech. Now each of the two tribes has what we now call a language, but neither of them knew that. Each of the two thought it only had developed a system of communication and signaling by words, while the other was so primitive and backward, that they haven’t yet. But suddenly a sharp-eyed member of one of the two tribes noticed something in the other group - while fighting of course. A connection between uttered voices and movements - some sort of organization. That’s when he or she realized that the other group has a language too. Having informed his own tribe of this, marked the first revealing ever of a military secret! I know, I know, it doesn’t make much sense to you now, but believe me, it must have made quite a difference on the battlefield then.

• I still can imagine how they could name things, they would point to the sky and say s-k-y, to a stone and say s-t-o-n-e. They wouldn't add the e to the stone yet I know, this comes with writing. But the thing I can’t yet imagine is, how they could describe feelings, states of mood and such things. Abstracts! Yes, abstracts. 
• I choose to believe that the females took care of that part for them. Now that I think of it, maybe the females figured this whole thing out by themselves. It would explain a lot actually. Taking into consideration how much women speak compared to men!
• You can’t be serious now, are you?
• Why not? Think about it! It just hit me, when you said the part with feelings and such.
• But men have feelings too, don’t they?! 
• They do, they do, but..?
• But, what?
• It’s not quite the same with men and women.
• How is that?
• I don’t know how to explain it to you exactly. I don’t want you to get me wrong, but see, we men have feelings as well as women but in a different way, maybe when you grow older, you’ll realize that on your own. 
• Couldn’t you even bring me close to it?
• When did music emerge?
• When God saw fit that language wasn’t just enough. Right from the beginning. 
• Silence too is a form of communication. A strange one, yes, but to those who master it, it’s a mighty powerful one. Have you heard of telepathy? Of course you haven't. You're too young for that. But wait a moment, this reminds me of something I have read some time ago, a very wise man once said, that we (people) do not learn anything new, which means that during our course of life we acquire no new knowledge or skills, we simply - according to that man, remember all what we seem to learn. I remember I was shocked when I read that! Many questions flooded my mind back then, such as: how is it that we merely remember things and ideas? This means that we’ve already known them before! But when? How? Even skills? Have we been somehow trained to acquire the skills that we believe that we have learnt in this life? It doesn't make much sense! What made that man say this? Boredom? Didn't have anything else better to do but vexing us with this seemingly true revelation?! Or he did know something, we don't?!
• Maybe not yet!
• Two questions: why did you use seemingly? And true?
• Because it seems so true. Revelation is the word you should have asked about I think. Or better yet, why didn't you ask about me using us in vexing us! Because it is clear that the man is vexing only and only me! Judging by how relaxed I see you.  
• You’ve misinterpreted my silence sir. I am not relaxed at all. 
• Now that was uncalled for! Really? 
• I just felt offended when you accused me of being relaxed about something vexing you sir, that’s all.