He left the chitter chatter behind. And the numbers. His working day was over. The bus took him down the road. Past many other chitter chatter and numbers places of employment. He descended on the outskirts of town. He walked past the suburban houses where he could see the flashing lights of the televisions through the windows. He could not hear their chitter chatter. Through the business park and into the country park the muddy path arrived at the canal. He avoided the puddles as the placid water reflected the factories. On the towpath he was nearly home. The dark silhouette of his boat appeared around the gentle curve of the waterway. He approached, lifted the tarpaulin cover and boarded. His weight swayed the boat as he found his key and by sense of touch unlocked the padlock and let himself in. He felt for the lighter on the table, sparked a flame and lit a candle. Seated on his sofa bed he drank a glass of water. His arrival had disturbed the nesting coots and they splashed about on the water and nibbled the sides of the boat. When they had settled only the traffic murmured in the distance. He turned the radio on to a low level and let the gentle music percolate into his mind. A spider lowered itself on a single thread from the ceiling. Descending close to the candle it cast a monstrous shadow above the radio. He turned to look and the spider retreated back up its thread. Able to live for months without food and water and spinning fine filaments ten times the strength of steel this marvelous creature was careful not intrude upon the humans space. He hoped it would catch some of the pesky flies that buzzed around his dwelling. He arose and lit the small meths burning cooker on the table adjacent to his bed. He placed a pan of water to boil and stirred in a spoonful of cocoa powder. As the mix came to the boil he removed the pan and capped the meths burner to extinguish the flame. He rooted out a bread roll from his backpack, poured the cocoa into a large tin mug and settled back onto the sofa. After turning up the radio a little he broke his bread and dipped it in the cocoa. Drinking the rest of the cup he began to feel tired. He collapsed his sofa into a bed and shook out his bedding. He crouched on the bed and did a few stretches to ease his back. He turned off the radio, undressed, blew out the candle and eased himself under the covers. The gravel of the towpath crunched as an evening cyclist sped past with flashing lights. He thought of his precious plans for the future and allowed his imagination to pick them up and run away.