Oompa Loompa

"Of all the ubiquitous little parlors in town, Johann's was the most fastidious. A little nook here, a little cranny there, everything had to be dusted and arranged just accordingly. And all for bread. A little bread shop, it seemed enough to keep up with the rural scenery of the small town of Faskach. It was a small development outside of the major factories and living centers nearby in Urbania.

Not much happened there. Faskach had seen them all come and go, from creepy little neo-Semites with nothing going on to trickle-downs of the factories north of them with slick hair and well-fitting suits, looking for their next pay. None of them did well there. It was work and die. From the rural suburbs to the mighty factories up north, there was nothing else to do in the world.

Standing up to his full height of three foot eight inches, slightly tall for Faskach or even Urbania, Johann finished dusting off a chair. His twenty-three-hour shift was coming to a close, and he wanted to go outside for a little while. To gaze at the great dust balls in the sky, see the huge factories up north pumping smoke, see the bicycles carrying workers whisk by. Anything to clear his mind of its tension.

Johann watched the clock as he finished his dusting. It struck his number and he sighed gratefully, careful not to let his supervisor hear. Setting down his duster and arranging the chairs one final time, Johann stepped out of 'La Panera,' the little bread shop he worked in, into the street. It was dark, and the glowing yellow dust balls greeted his eyes immediately. He smiled. For a second, he felt better about things.

The minutes passed, Johann's green hair and orange skin glinting in the streetlights as he smoked his cigarette and thought. The burden was heavy. He would think about that later. There was too much to do. His parlor needed his attention, and the many parlors all around Urbania and the towns around all shared that one rule. 'Never late, never frown.'

Johann sighed again and stood up in the eerie glow of the streetlights outside the tiny bread parlor, amongst a town, a city, an entire world full of them. He checked the clock and went back inside, a slight tremble to his lips."