SETTING OFF

They loaded the car high, with helpful items and some that were just there for show. They took rolls and rolls of film. These were pictures already taken and stored away, not fresh rolls. They took fresh rolls. These were rolls purchased from the bakery, letting off steam when broken, like in TV ads, because it was so early. These were not fresh rolls of film. There was a thin film of dew on the windscreen and they drew patterns on the glass with their fingers. Their fingers were in gloves, and their gloves became wet as the dew transferred from the windscreen to the wool. There were transfers all over one of the windows, clever slogans and ads for radio stations, some dating back over ten years. The radio inside the car was on already, as someone had already turned it on. No one had heard radio this early in the day before. It was mostly music, no voices. It was probably the same music they heard at other times of the day, but because they were hearing it so early in the morning, it sounded different. The world had less sound, somehow.