When the Hikikomori Ruled the World

Once upon a time, there was a very shy boy named Toshio Yanagida who was no longer able to relate with other teenagers because he preferred staying inside his house. He thought the world outside was too complex and full of dangers for him. The boy started saying that if we were born, we must die, and we may as well accept it and stop trying to do something about it. At first, no one understood what he said, but after some time, the whole world used the same words in their meetings: “If we were born, we must die, and if we could do something about it, we would have done it already, so let’s just accept it and stop trying.” After that, they started saying that life is no more worth living than death because death is just another path of life. So, to live was just like dying without seeing your life fulfilled and vice versa. They called this “The Society of Acceptance,” also known as “The Hikikomori Rules The World Association” (or shortly THRA). Life in this society had become very meaningful, even though all people did was sitting at home playing video games and watching TV every day. But their lives were so fulfilling they felt happy all the time, even though they didn’t see each other for months because everyone was spending all their time at home alone. This society kept going on until one day a boy decided to collect all his confidence and go out of his house to chase a squirrel through the city park near his house. That boy went by all his fears while chasing the squirrel around trees, benches, and lakes while laughing happily. When he finally caught up with the squirrel, however, he realized there was no point in doing this task because he didn’t know what he could do with the squirrel now that he had caught it. When the boy returned home, all his friends were so surprised to hear what he did there, for he had never been out from his house before. That was the day when THRA’s people realized they didn’t have any purpose in living and died from sadness. The end.