Brainwash People

“Why was he smiling?” Elle asks.
Kinzie shrugs. “People are weird. who cares”
There is some shouting over by the food stall. Two purple shirts are shoving around a young man dressed in rags. Elle keeps eating.
“How long have you been deaf?” Elle asks.
“What if I told you I was born this way?” Kinzie frowns. Elle looks over at the purple shirts, who are now dragging the man away. “That seems wrong.”
“Bold words, angel.”
“You talk. Cedric doesn't. Did he teach you how to sign?” Elle asks.
“Looking to join the grand church of questioners?” Kinzie asks.
“Is that really a thing?” Elle asks.
/No./ Elle signs forcefully.
“I’m just trying to figure out what is happening.” Elle says.
They walk for a while down main streets. Elle examines every building, scans every face. Kinzie walks next to her, silent. A group of teenagers peer down at them from a rooftop. Elle looks over at Kinzie. Kinzie shrugs. The group disappears from view.
“Oh, you’ll like this one.” Kinzie points at a pink building up ahead.
As they approach, Elle can see that the building is not just pink but orange, red, and yellow as well. The colors make patterns: concentric shapes of all varieties and wandering spirals.
“It’s like the scribbles of children.” Elle observes.
Kinzie giggles. “They love stories.”
“Children love stories?” Elle asks.
“Yes and so do the idiots that go in that building. Magic stories about how you’re not really alive until after you’re dead.” Kinzie points at the door. “Should we go in?”
Elle looks at the door and then back at Kinzie. “What do they do in there?”
“Brainwash people.” Kinzie makes a scrubbing motion around her head. “Same as all the other believers.”