"Drift into a coma where strange appliances tell me I'm an excellent human being." -James Tate, from Memoir of the Hawk

Never Mind

Joseph fell backwards to his rear while attempting to jump over a puddle, getting his favorite green pants wet. Carla began laughing at this accident, and, as a result, swallowed the gum she had been chewing. The look of incredulity on her face, in return, made Joseph laugh, which caused him to slip onto his front while attempting to rise out of the puddle, getting his favorite grey shirt wet. Carla started laughing again, this time with more fervor and severity, which caused her to stagger into a prickly bush. Her resulting cries at all the small prickles all over her made Joseph roll about, laughing where he lay, in the puddle. He stood up and wrung his shirt from the water, causing it to drip over his favorite leather shoes. The small fit he threw at his soaked favorite outfit made Carla scream with laughter, which caused a baby in a stroller to begin to cry. The mother shot the two of them a dirty look, rose from her bench, and started walking towards the other end of the park, stroller in front. The look that this mother gave caused Carla and Joseph to look at each other for a moment, then burst into laughter. They banged their heads against the ground after falling, they kicked each other in the shins and guts unintentionally, and they laughed more and more at the increasing violence of their accidents. Soon, they had picked up sticks and rocks, and they began to tear each other apart, laughing all the while. Soon, they weren’t even people anymore, just shapes, and, soon after, they were visually unrecognizable. They were only sounds, like laughs, but also like screams. The sun set on the park, and the screams turned to low growls, or chuckles.