entrance room

A dead rat lies in the field outside the window. Its dark fur glows in the white snow. I stand in the kitchen sorting pens. I turn to the newspaper rack in the corner. A thin layer of dust coats the magazines and journals. A puzzle activity book peeks out from beneath the layers. "Large print puzzles. Puzzle fun at a glance."

The activity book is from 2012 and no one missed it or looked for it. There are a few entries on two pages, the rest are blank.

I sit down and study the predefined black and white squares. When I find the right word, I enter a state of rapturous enthusiasm. Searching and finding transfers the longing of “remaining open” to everything else.

Strange that this activity book should appear right now and function as a filler for the inconsequential in-between times – between lunch and an afternoon stroll, between hair drying and calling Susanne, between entering the waiting room and being called in, between a glass of red wine in the evening and going to bed.

– Nadja Ayoub, Curator