Three

The one on the right and the one on the left looked at the one in the middle at the same time. The one in the middle, equipped with only one pair of eyes and suffering from a lack of affliction of squint eyes proceeded to look to his left and then to the right or was it to the right and then to the left. It was night and I am not sure of the order. What is sure is that their eyes were in agreement. In agreement like any other night. It is only at night they could look at each other. Day was for the other life. The life to please people around them. The life to keep up appearances. They jumped down from the platform and walked towards the city in search of the night’s entertainment. They avoided the roads as they walked. This was secondarily to avoid being detected by anyone who was still awake. Primarily, roads disgusted them. Roads were for cowards. For conformists , the one on the right had always maintained. Roads were for the day, for light, when others could see you. The one in the middle held his ears out for sounds. Not just any sound, but sounds of pain, sounds of suffering. Sounds you shunned away during the day, the ones that gave birth to tears when the sun was up. They mocked at how eyes that have nothing to do with sound acted up when the ears heard something sad. Poser They had called the eyes
The one in the middle stopped on his tracks and looked to the west. He turned to his companions and grinned. Again, they agreed. They ran in the same direction for a while stopping at an abandoned building. Slowly, they made their way up the building to the third floor. They could hear the cries of a woman from there. Cries for help. For mercy. They could also hear the grunts, laughs and abuses of some men. They peeped in to see what was going on. One by one, they excitedly lapped up the monstrosity happening in front of them. The actions they condemn during day. Actions that outrage them under the catalyst of light. The one on the right turned to the others and whispered in excitement-sexy. Again, they agreed. When the men were done, the three of them quietly slipped out from the place and walked back. They were laughing and reliving the images in their mind’s eyes. They mocked the cries of the woman by imitating it. They continued to talk about how arousing the experience had been. Even better than the murder last night. They nodded in agreement for the last time this night. They had reached their home. One by one, they made their way up to the platform. The one on the left slowly brought his hands up and covered his eyes. The one in the middle proceeded to cover his ears and the one on the right placed his hands over his mouth. There they sat. As if they had never moved from there in the first place. After all, who would believe that three concrete monkeys came alive at night and walked the streets. When dawn broke, they presented themselves to daylight, reprising their roles. The guiding lights of our morality sat still. In agreement.

(A numerical sequel to ‘Abattoir’)