It requires wisdom to understand wisdom: the music is nothing if the audience is deaf. (Walter Lippmann)

Murray sat on his torn arm chair, looking out of the sole window of his apartment. He could tell that today would be a bad one; the silence was beginning to make him anxious already. The gray icy mixture that covered Mercy Road and its surrounding area made everything look more depressing than usual.

Pulling a gray sweatshirt over his head, Murray stepped into the hallway and almost tripped over a little kid who was being swallowed up by an over-sized suit.

He is always alone. Dangerous in this place..

Murray took the stairs. He figured if he exercised he could smoke more. Murray stepped outside and lit a cigarette to combat the cold air.

A girl walking ahead of him caught his eye. She was dirty, but sort of pretty. He decided to follow her. As she slithered down the sidewalk, Murray became captivated by her dark hair and bulky jacket.

He smelled a sharp odor. Alcohol.

Murray turned into the liquor store and found a small bottle of SeaGram Gin. He fumbled for the four crumpled dollar bills that were hiding deep in his pocket..

Murray Howard

Murray Howard slipped his hands into the front pockets of his worn-in jeans, as he stumbled down the sidewalk. Murray opened the door of the D&D liquor store, slowly walked inside, and grabbed the first alcoholic drink he found. Looking at the ground, Murray placed the bottle of vodka on the counter with a heavy hand.
"And a carton of Basics," Murray mumbled to the cashier.
While leaving the store, Murray accidentally bumped into a blurry figure. The stranger's face turned red as he opened his mouth wide at Murray, bearing his gleaming, yellow teeth.
Back in his apartment, Murray dropped his purchases on his chair and laid down on his bed. As he drifted off to sleep, he began to hear the faint sound of a woman laughing and the whistling of a tea pot.
Murray awoke to dainty paws kneading on his forehead. Rumples knew this as the best way to wake Murray up, because he had found meowing to be useless. Murray noticed that Rumples' scruffy gray hair was in need of brushing. Murray rubbed his eyes and oozed out of bed. He sauntered over to the kitchen and reached up to grab a metal cereal bowl from the cabinet. It fell to the floor. Murray watched the metal bowl as it hit the floor and wished he could hear the noise.