The Sentimentally Beige Turnstone

The story

Arthur spent forty years matching his walls to the bird. He bought the turnstone at a liquidation sale for people who had given up on contrast. He painted the ceiling, the floorboards, and the radiator. He replaced the curtains because they were slightly too gray. The bird did not object. It stood in the corner and looked at the wallpaper. Arthur sat in a beige chair and watched it. He felt a deep, quiet harmony. Once, he tried to buy a beige cat, but the cat was white. He returned it. Now he only has the bird, and the silence, and the perfect, unvarying shade of everything.