The Cheese Sandwich

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The cheese sandwich lay on the pavement feeling sorry for itself. The cheap white bread enclosed a processed orange cheese and a few bits of unidentifiable green stuff. Bless it, the value range snack had never looked appetising at the best of times. Even before it had been dropped, it had been a second rate sandwich.  But now, as it gathered grit, it looked like the lowest of the low. But at least it had heart. It had lost a corner to a hungry mouth, but it had managed to escape from the clutches of the predator, who just moments before had been intent on devouring it.
But despite its new found freedom the sandwich was still in danger. Injured and helpless, it lay prone in the road at the mercy of a whole new raft of threats. Feet fell to the left and right, occasionally clipping the crust, but never crushing the bread beneath a heavy sole or stabbing it with a pointy stiletto. A bike swerved around it, the tyres narrowly avoiding slicing the sandwich in two. Rain pitted and patted, threatening to turn the bread into a gooey mush, but the downfall never came. So far it was living a charmed life, but it surely couldn’t last.

A shadow was cast over the pavement. High above the obese vulture-like seagull were circling over their stricken prey. The prone sandwich cowered in fear. There was nothing it could do. First one, then two, then the third bird swooped down. There was a blur of white feathers, yellow beaks and grey wings. The birds yelled at each other, each laying claim to the defenceless sandwich. Pedestrians moved out of the way as large, strong wings flapped and fought and all three hungry birds snatched at the forlorn snack as if it were their birth right. Beaks bit into the bread, each bird unwilling to let their inheritance go.

To be fair the sandwich put up a good fight, holding on for dear life. But in the end it couldn't defy the laws of physics and it succumbed to the inevitable, being ripped asunder by the squabbling birds. Bread and cheese scattered all over the pavement.  The seagulls took to the air, desperate to find a roof top where they could feast on the morsels they had managed to win in their tug of war. And pigeons soon arrived to hoover up the remains.