Our Most Important Delusion

December 28, 2022 4:07 AM

Every Christmas Eve, I took my belongings and travelled the Humboldt Way back to the institution grounds. An animal had broken through one of the windowpanes, and so I could unclasp the window and let myself in. I camped in this very hall, right where you’re sitting, by this same hearth, heating myself with the wood we used to keep in the shed, and with some dry wood I collected on my trek up the path. I did this every Christmas Eve, as I said, and in this way I could look after the place. I could watch it fall slowly apart, the paint chipping around windows and doors, the roof sagging and collapsing in places, the floorboards rotting. from "S/Z" by Ben Libman

(un?)related: S/Z [PDF] by Roland Barthes [PDF] [previously]

posted by chavenet (2 comments total)

That was really nice, thanks for sharing.
posted by jellywerker at 5:22 AM on December 28, 2022 [2 favorites]

Well crafted tale, enjoyable.
posted by Oyéah at 12:34 PM on December 28, 2022 [1 favorite]