Summary
Dark Humor Story "Pinching Myself"
In the town, there was a dimly lit tavern where regulars gathered. They felt a sense of superiority over each other by boasting about their own pain. "I cut my finger at work yesterday. I cried in the bathroom because it hurt so much!" one of them laughed as he spoke, and the others laughed loudly in response. "Your pain is nothing compared to my broken leg!" In the midst of such conversations, it felt as if something was mocking them.
One night, an unfamiliar man entered the tavern. He dragged a broken leg behind him, and his face was covered in purple bruises. The man bought a drink and sat at the bar. "Your pain is nothing compared to mine," he said. The regulars stiffened at his response. "Hey, what happened to you?" one of them asked. The man grinned and began to tell them about his own pain.
His story was horrifying; the man had been conducting an "experiment" on himself to understand the pain of others. He was trying to feel the suffering of others by stepping on nails and inflicting pain upon himself. "So, at this moment, I am feeling your pain. Why don't you try pinching yourselves?" The regulars’ expressions froze at his words. They felt a mix of fear and curiosity towards this man's strange theory of grasping pain.
However, the regulars did not take the lesson seriously. "Your method is insane. We don’t need pain!" they retorted and began boasting about their own pain once again. The man watched this with a sinister smile and muttered, "If you who do not know pain are turning away from true suffering, that might be the most painful thing of all." He continued to drink as if lost in thought. Before him lay a lonely journey within a mad reality.
