Usually when things talked, he just blocked his ears and tried not to listen. It had never occurred to him to ask them questions. Of course, the shoe hadn’t answered. Maybe it thought the question was stupid. Maybe stuff stopped talking to you when you asked too many stupid questions, just like he stopped talking to Dr. Melanie, or in group when everyone just sat there in silence. Maybe if he asked more stupid questions, all the things would stop talking completely. That would be excellent. He rolled up the paper and put it back in his pocket.
