My shoes squelch into the mud in the wet street,
hurrying towards the promised land.
The lonely yellow arches shine into the cold depths of my soul.
Heart racing,
I near the glowing McDonald’s
Where a grimy, crusty exterior
warmly greets me.
Slipping through a squeaky door,
I inhale the familiar scent;
I know it so well that it feels like home.
Cheap, fake floral air freshener masking
An unmistakable stench of cleaning solution and bleach.
But the most heavenly scent of all
pierces its way through the air,
The grilled, golden delicacy;
McNuggets.
A smell glorious enough to wake a dead man.
I hear sparrows chirping as I bumble towards the counter.
Tattered employees mill around the sewer-like surroundings
While I begin to contemplate the most difficult decision known to man:
Large fry,
Or
McFlurry?
Mind racing,
Forehead burning with beads of sweat,
I blurt out the choice of a lifetime:

Number 10 meal. With a Mcflurry.

A rushing sensation of relief,
like a wave, soaked my limbs as I saw my order
parading towards me.
My hand, cradling the crispy, heavenly host,
Steaming with cancer-inducing bliss,
reaches my mouth
as my tastebuds remind me
What true happiness is.