Hello, Universe

by Erin Entrada Kelly

“How come so many of your stories have boys getting eaten by stuff, like rocks or crocodiles?” “Not all of them are about boys getting eaten. Sometimes it’s girls.”

Virgil had long suspected that his brothers were crafted out of a factory that made perfect, athletic, perpetually happy children, and he was made from all the leftover parts.

Valencia was still staring off into the freezer like it was the door to Narnia.

“Besides, he’s not as bad as you think. Most things aren’t.”

“Of all the questions you ever ask yourself in life, never ask, ‘What’s the point?’ It’s the worst question in the world,” Ruby said.

Have to disagree with that.

“You can’t just give up,” Ruby said. “There’s a time when a person has to give up. That’s just the truth.” “Give me an example,” said Ruby.

Virgil is right -- Ruby is wrong.

Virgil sighed. He thought for a moment. “Okay. Let’s say you’re running a race. It’s a really, really long race, too. And you sign up because you think you can do it. You practice running for months, maybe even years. And then the big race comes and you’re running and running. And suddenly your legs are really tired. And you’re dehydrating. And you can hardly breathe. And the finish line is still way down the road and stuff. But you just can’t make it. You start throwing up or something. If you keep going, you know you’ll drop dead. So you stop. And you sit on the side of the road so you don’t die. You have to give up, or else.” “That’s a terrible example,” said Ruby immediately. Virgil’s eyebrows bunched together. He glared into the darkness. “No it’s not.” “Yes it is.” “What makes it a terrible example?” “Because the person in your story didn’t give up. Giving up would have been never starting the race at all.”

Ruby combines the "No True Scotsman" and "False Dilemma" logical fallacies.

“She’s seeing you for the first time, Bayani. That’s all.”