The night the first trace appeared on the sanatorium’s tile, Matthew was returning from checking that the infirmary wing was closed. At first glance, the tile was nothing special: a simple continuation of the floor that the nurses, the Prior, and the various patients disdained underfoot. However, for Matthew, it became the object of an […]

These floors, original to the house, have witnessed the turn of two centuries. The shoe concealed beneath them is older. Laces replaced, sole thrice mended, the shoe still bears the impression of the big toe that for years pressed against the worn upper. Now, it rests mateless between floor joists, a curiosity for spiders and […]

I. She came into the world with her hands fisted. She didn’t arrive crying as most babies do. A nurse had to smack her brown little bum with a wooden ruler before she gave a loud, piercing cry. Four days later, in the middle of a quiet street, sun burning fiercely on the asphalt, a […]