SILENCE EQUALED DEATH

When I arrived at my door I heard a dog barking next door. So they had gotten a dog. It would bark every time it smelled one of the neighbours arriving. It was a shrill bark. I figured it was too small to do anything but be crushed by a true invading criminal. So maybe the idea was to have some more noise in their lives. The kids were older and quieter. Too much silence equaled death for them. Perhaps. I was not going to ask why. I decided it was one more sign that I should keep softly playing noisy music all the time on my stereo. I had a new slightly unpleasant noise added to my list of unwanted sounds I had to deal with. I drank to that until I felt very sleepy. Then I showered. Then I ate some instant noodles. I woke up with an open book by my side.