That’s that. I didn’t want to rebuff anyone. This is simply an opportunity to parrot the narrative. It was so well trained. A man calmly worked on his automobile, an 1997 Corolla. Vintage. Two police officers arrived, tentative. The man didn’t even blink. Or not in an obvious or offensive way to the police officers, who were wondering about the wails inside the house. That’s my parakeet, said the amateur engineer. He guided the officers inside. You do wonder where the bird learned such a thing. The comments were split on the issue. Everything can be construed as a conspiracy. How two molecules coincidentally merge. That’s the great mystery of the human body, every system working in tandem. They used this to their benefit. They were a team of three but one of them betrayed them. One of them wanted them to work collaboratively, while the other pursued his own self-interest. So it was luck, the finalists. But if you ask me, everyone deserved it. They plucked a crustless sandwich from a platter and said “thank you.” Then they ate the cucumber inside, and the pat of cream cheese. That’s all. You’re not hungry? No.
