A/N:I use the lyrics of Sounds of Silence by Simon and Garfunkle with utmost respect.
Cho's Night Out
Hello darkness, my old friend
I've come to talk with you again
Kimball Cho closed the door that led to his apartment building and inhaled the evening air. His favorite fast food joint was about a mile away and he'd jog there, enjoy two double cheese burgers and then walk back.
Because a vision softly creeping
Left its seeds while I was sleeping
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sound of silence
Last time, there, last Friday actually, one week ago, there'd been a rather attractive lady that had caught his eye. She'd been reading Atlas Shrugged. Ayn Rand was one of Cho's favorite authors, but it was usually college students that were forced to read her weighty works.
In restless dreams I walked alone
Narrow streets of cobblestone
'Neath the halo of a street lamp
I turned my collar to the cold and damp
It was surprisingly cool, tonight. He pulled the hood up on his hoody and made short work of the mile to the fast food joint, not once seeing another human being. He rounded the final corner, stopped, breathing hard, to catch his breath.
When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light
That split the night
And touched the sound of silence
The garish light of the plate glass window momentarily blinded him. He squinted, leaned forward, hands on knees and took several deep breaths. He straightened and walked into the restaurant, greeted by the bustle of the Friday night crowd.
And in the naked light I saw
Ten thousand people, maybe more
People talking without speaking
People hearing without listening
He quickly ordered and mechanically received his normal two double cheese burgers. He looked around, and there she was in the same booth, same book, same look on intense concentration. He choose a seat where he could see her and distractedly munched on this food.
People writing songs that voices never share
And no one dared
Disturb the sound of silence
Finishing, he stood, walked by her on his way out, wondering why he couldn't think of anything to say that would allow him to meet her.
"Fools", said I, "You do not know
Silence like a cancer grows
Hear my words that I might teach you
Take my arms that I might reach you"
But my words, like silent raindrops fell
And echoed
In the wells of silence
The walk back to his apartment was unsettling. He was not ready for another Friday night alone. He was not ready for another empty weekend. He stopped and the entrance to his apartment building, turned and gazed across the skyline.
And the people bowed and prayed
To the neon god they made
And the sign flashed out its warning
In the words that it was forming
And the sign said, "The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls
And tenement halls"
And whispered in the sounds of silence
With a determined look on his face, he turned and headed back to the burger joint. He wasn't sure what he'd say, but he'd think of something.
oOOOo