I laughed at the good-hearted hijinks of a man named Earl on my television set.

I was sitting on my couch, enjoying some much-needed downtime.

Then a muffled voice from downstairs interrupted my good time.

It was an annoying voice, one I'd come to resent as it regularly intruded on my thoughts. I rolled my eyes and said,

Shut up.

But I didn't say it loud enough for her to hear me,

not even close.

I didn't want to go down there and talk to her.

I'd done it once before, and it didn't help.

In fact, I think she got louder.

Eventually, I would have to do something about it, but not right now.

She continued talking loudly.

Even though I couldn't make out the words she was saying,

I grabbed the remote and turned the volume up on my TV.

The blonde woman on the screen was giving Earl a hard time again.

I laughed, slapping my left hand down onto my knee, and I kept laughing until the TV

was on a commercial break, at which point my laughter died down.

A car insurance ad came on, one with a guy in a suit who was always causing accidents.

I watched, zoning out, thinking about other things.

But the next commercial brought me out of my momentary days.

It was one I'd never seen before.

The words Demon Dan's Discount, Homunculus Depot on the screen in powder-blue bubble letters over a white background.

...