Great big birds were circling overhead; Alice imagined them as terrible eagles, plotting to swoop down and take her away. What would they do to me? she thought.

People loitered on the streets; Alice imagined them as giant ants, descending upon the car, tearing it into infinitely small pieces. Maybe they’ll eat my eyes, like grapes, she thought.

She ran her fingers up and down the face. She traced the gouge under her eye.

None of this was enough to soothe her.

They were still going in circles.

“Can we go to Burger Burger?” she asked.

“What?” He looked over at her, as if genuinely surprised she would ask that question. “What? Sure.”

They took a right at the next intersection, and drove straight down Truffle Street. Finally, new sights started to trickle into view – evidence that they were not just mindlessly looping! Internally, she rejoiced, though she understood too well this meant that getting her medication would be delayed another hour or more.

The sign bearing the famous Burger Man came up on the horizon; Alice recognized it immediately. It was the restaurant not far off from their very own homes – they went here all the time! So they weren’t just lost in some endless asphalt labyrinth, she could finally conclude. Yes, they were very close to home.

They turned in. The Burger Burger itself was plain and unassuming, like any other of its kind, give or take a few windows. The parking lot was barren with only a few cars that Alice had to guess were employees. All of this was something finally normal to her, and she took some comfort in this.

“Can we go inside?” she asked.

Joseph turned to her. “Of course not,” he said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world to him. Then he circled around into the drive-through.