Sanity in Silence

He knew well that hell was tinted in red and yellow, but it took the golden arches hovering above his head to realize the evil power of those colors. The eyes of dozens lit up a the sight of them, condemning themselves in complicity. They took from him what the devious ones had told him to do. He did not believe in his actions, but he knew well what should come next. He figured he should cure cancer since he was giving America diabetes. And heart disease. And future trash. All before 11 AM.

The partner assigned to him talked endlessly about anything and everything. Early on in the task, the partner proclaimed the absence of love in his life presently and possibly for the future. The morning crept more slowly the more the partner talked. Occasionally, he disappeared around the corner and the silence was golden, much like the arches hovering above his head.

The task was easiest when no word were necessary. A photo of a burger, coffee, fries, a knowing glance between two strangers and another step closer to a double bypass. The exchange had to happen five hundred times in four hours. Some needed convincing, however. Free fries and drink would do it most of the time. Other questioned the quality of the burger. He had nothing to say for it had never passed his lips. He nodded and smiled. Complicity in silence.

Done by 11 AM, he would be asleep by 11:30. The roars of traffic, rumbling construction, shouts of train riders, endless streams of words from the partner, all disappeared. He had probably dreamed of arches above his head, people reveling in the sight of a floating corporate logo, the distribution of disease in the form of a coupon. The rest of the day continued in silence, sanity returned.

The next morning he was back on the street with the red and yellow, golden arches above him. Free fries and drink. Dollar coffee. Free fries and drink. Dollar coffee. The partner told him his car had been towed and that he had anger issues and he managed a bar and grill and-

Soon silence soon.