Uncle Ted

Somewhere in the middle of Ted’s Manifesto Leon became bored; it was all too logical. The piece was all smooth marble and no art. He put the pages away (he had printed it as a sign of commitment) on his desk and wondered whether having an enemy would be a noble thing - but his soft innards swam in a thin lukewarm temper; he was unfit to provoke a strong reaction.

A friend had invited him to a party. It felt correct to go there. Maybe he’d find someone there to antagonize and make an enemy of. It would be a nice change. While he got ready to leave (brushing his teeth, looking for the second shoe) he felt the weekend slowly opening its gate now, post work, for it was Friday evening:
“Maybe its not so bad after all
Maybe its alright.
Nice, even.”,
he said to his tripled self in front of the bathroom cabinet; he opened one of the mirror doors and applied cream to a pimple on his chin. Inflamed & irritated after grooming. Civilizational sickness. “Good joke!”, he thought. Just a small blemish.

Outside, the houses along the street were catching stray light from the sinking sun and marked the day’s end with appropriate fanfare. People seemed happy, light-footed and relieved. The trademark bum beside the bus stop was petting a humanist dog while even the owner smiled at the moment’s unforced grace. Leon strolled along at a lazy pace - the tyranny of the clock had no power over him (now at least) and for a liberated mind, there is no difference between 8:01 and 8:17 (he believes).

“If everything is shit”, he thought, “What’s the point in rebelling against reality? Maybe that dude could have turned to venomous satire. Make fun of dunces, instead of murder by postal proxy. Shame.”

He stopped at the correct door and rang; he was buzzed in; the echo travelled up the old-world staircase (red carpet rolled out on the steps, with weights, to protect against accidental folds) and arrived further up at the sound of a door being opened and left ajar. From down below he looked up and listened. He heard no voices. Too early after all?