Ever heard of the phenomenon known as the bystander effect?

  It often happens when something bad happens to someone in public and others bear witness to it. This phenomenon is when those people are just walking by without doing anything at all. Pretending it never happened in the first place.

  Whenever something bad, frightening and/or unexpected happens people have a couple of different ways of responding.

  Fight or flight are usually the two that are discussed the most.

  Like for example when you're being attacked, you might take a stand and fight or just flee from the attacker.

  Then there's also freeze, one often forgotten. In this case the person freezes up, becoming unable to move. In a way it's pretending to be dead, like many creatures that walk this earth, something our early ancestors must have learned somewhere. It's an instinct that has been passed down so far, even to some of us in the 21st century.

  I'm going off track here, so let's get back to the bystander effect.

  As the name suggests this is about the reactions of bystanders that witness the situation unfold. It's a bit different from fight or flight, since as a person watching you don't have to be in immediate danger. Perhaps it might just be safer to remain someone passing by.

  Fight, flight or freeze can in some ways be of significance here too. Though different of course.

  Some people might try to help the person being attacked, others flee the scene, getting themselves to safety and others remain unmoving and just stand there watching as the scene unfolds.

  Though having many theories, this phenomenon still has yet to gain a true explanation, a true cause and reason to answer.

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  Personally the bystander effect scares me a little, I mean, what if I were to become a victim and I would just be ignored by the people around me. That would make me feel truly invisible.

  But perhaps it's worse if you happen to have someone watching you taking pictures or filming for enjoyment.

  I ring the doorbell before me and the door soon opens.

  "Come in Farren." My cousin greets me with a smile on his face, letting me come inside.

  After that conversation with Oliver I decided to visit my cousin and aunt as I had promised.

  "Good day aunt Tilly."

  "It's been far too long, Farren!" She calls to me in a worried tone I've gotten used to: "Kathan! Why couldn't you have told me about this?!" She yells at her son.

  He seems rather confused: "About what, ma?"

  Our moms are sisters and thus look very alike. They've been very close ever since childhood, something that luckily never went away. So my cousin and I have basically been raised together as well. As kids we used to have sleepovers all the time and on vacations we always went together as one big family.

  "Your cousin has gotten so thin he almost looks like a dried up mummy!"

  Is it really that bad?

  Kathan glances my way: "He looks alright to me."

  My aunt turns back to me: "Farren, I know you're often busy, but it is your own responsibility too. Don't forget to eat!"

  I laugh awkwardly: "Yes aunt Tilly, I will, I will."

  She looks right through me and my lies: "You're going to keep forgetting, aren't you?" Like my own mother, she almost feels all knowing.

  "Really I'm fine!" I almost panic, waving around my hands.

  It takes a couple of minutes to finally get my aunt to talk about something else, after she has prepared a bag filled with a month's worth of vegetables and other things to make my own food with.

  She grows them in her own garden, always having too much, but always ready to share it with everyone even remotely close to her. Even with her neighbours she has a close bond.

  We eat dinner together, with my aunt trying to feed me more than I can possibly have. All the while talking about work, Kathan's school and life in general.

  I'm worrying her.

  I know that.

  Even if I don't want to.

  I feel so damn guilty for doing so.

  Do I really matter that much to her?

  Well, I guess I do.

  As her nephew, her family, I do.

  Am I worrying everyone around me?

  Oliver seemed to worry a little as well...

  And mister Larrance...

  Damnit!

  I guess, they might not be simple bystanders as I believed them to be...

  The bystander like I believe myself to be.

  Perhaps the scariest thing of all, is that they might even get themselves in danger in order to help me...