The other people

These are the other people. An old man and a servant read magazines at a dentist waiting room. They seem wearily focused on the reading. The place is within reach of the drone of odd-looking tools that clean and polish and drill somebody's teeth. The old man's wife in the corner does not read. She is anxious and utters sporadic cries that deserve no attention from the man and their domestic attendant. Her acting is bizarre, her appearance weak, drained of all energy she once had. The man turns a deaf ear to her cries, a lifetime long situation all too familiar to both of them. The servant and the old man reach the end of their magazines in unison. Without a word, they exchange them, resuming their weary reading. Indeed, these must be the other people.