A Tragedy

They sat at the dining table in complete reticence, the clanging of their forks against their plates being the only audible sound throughout the room. The curtains were open, the windows pouring light onto the wooden surface of the caramel brown table. Outside, the sun was still out, the air crisp and the skies clear; a beautiful evening to go for a walk. A man and a woman sat at the opposite heads of the table, with a boy in between them. Each had a look of exhaustion on their face, their features seemingly melting like candle wax as they chewed on their food sluggishly. There were no words exchanged throughout the entire duration of the meal.

One by one, each of them brought their empty plate over to the sink and dropped it in. The boy was first to do so, and slowly walked back up the stairs, walked into his bedroom and shut the door. He lied down on his bed, put his headphones on, and blasted the music until he could no longer hear any remnant of the outside world.

The woman was next to rise, and walked to the living room to sit heavily down on to the couch and turn on the television. She listened vaguely to the newscasters on the screen, tears streaming down her face as she stared blankly into space.

Last came the man, who after leaving his plate and fork in the sink, sat back down at the dining table, staring out the window. He observed a bird in their tall backyard tree chirp from its branches. He gazed into its skittish eyes, and watched it as it flew away into the sky.