Work was mundane to say the least. Copy after copy was printed, the ink on the paper forming the shapes of meaningless jargon. The best part about work however, was the small shop a couple of doors down. They had the finest picture frames Samuel had ever seen. They were intricately carved, with small flowers and creatures rising out of the wooden borders.

What was interesting to Samuel however, was the sample pictures inside each frame. There were pictures of smiling, happy families. Children running across the beach, husbands embracing wives, dogs licking babies. They stirred something inside of Samuel that he couldn’t identify.

For two weeks, Samuel went there everyday after work. He’d pick up a new frame each time. The clerks began to know him by name, and one even said “You must have quite the family!” Samuel nodded and smiled.

Each night he’d go home and place the frames on the shelves in his empty bedroom. And each night, the faces of people he didn’t know would stare at him as he slept.