Looking for the one thing
I peek into the basement window, awaiting the big payoff. I am virtually invisible, a tiny speck that buzzes about, in search of the one thing I need. My efforts yield nothing so far, just a kid playing video games on an enormous television. The basement is finished and furnished, full of toys and childish distractions. The boy sits on the old couch that formerly sat in the living room upstairs. He is frowning in concentration, his pixilated car zooming around the pixilated track. The race finishes, and he drops the controller to the floor in disgust. Apparently he has failed to beat his best time, relegated to second place again. I grow bored as he picks the controller up again and starts the race anew. There is nothing for me here.
My wandering path heads upwards to a first floor window, finding a similar situation. The boy’s father sits in the living room, watching the evening news on an enormous television, newer and nicer than the one in the basement. The couch he sits on is newer and nicer as well. The room is furnished with more care and is cleaner than the basement. It is full of family photos, house plants and more adult distractions. The father leans back, socked feet resting on the coffee table, watching footage of a car crash on the highway from earlier in the day. The father picks up the remote control and turns the volume up slightly. Just as in the basement, there is no payoff for me, and boredom is renewed. Why do they bother themselves with these silly matters? Only one primal urge drives me, and nothing can keep my mind from my goal of satisfying that urge.
The window I find on the second floor is slightly steamed over, and its warmth is the first thing that attracts me. It has been getting colder outside of late, and this change in the weather bothers me. This room is brightly lit and tiled in white, nothing like the first floor or the basement. I am still virtually invisible, and I wander until I find a section of the window that is clear from steam. A teenage girl steps out of the shower, her hair dripping water onto the floor. She reaches for a bright white towel in the bright white room. I watch as she slowly towels herself dry. There is nothing for me, and I grow bored again.
I end up back on the first floor again, at a different window. It is also slightly covered in steam with warmth, and here, finally, oh, finally, is my payoff! I have to clean my eyes off with my forelegs to believe what I am seeing. Corn on the cob, boiling on the stove, roast beef and mashed potatoes on the kitchen table right next to an overflowing salad! The mother takes the corn off the stove and calls out for the rest of the family. My wings beat involuntarily with excitement as I look at the food, and I begin to smack myself against the kitchen window. The boy comes up from the basement, the father in his socks, and the girl with her damp hair. They sit down and begin to share this incredible bounty. I watch with hungry eyes and wait for them to take out the trash.