At every point, how clear this seems to her, there appears to have been a choice, and most often the choice that has been exercised is a choice to do harm.
She knows this is too simple. As she understands that what is happening isn’t history. Not in any way which matters.
Either: one of us, or both of us.
He will come back. She is certain. The door closes fast by itself. She will wait by the door, and when he returns he will come into the room and she will shut the door, even if she has to remain inside, because there needs to be an end.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
With gratitude to:
Kris Doyle, Paul Baggaley, Tony Peake, Lynne Tillman, Anne Bentley, Jeff Black, Travis Garth, Chris Rose, Nathalie de Sant Phalle, Eva Orner, Luke Kennard, Cristiana Ligouri.
Video & audio:
Elsa Braekkan Payne, Drew Conrad, Sugi Ganeshananthan, Bill Goldstein, Nam Le, Oliver Mason, Mary Medlin, Adam Sims, Sian Thomas.
These books were generously supported by fellowships from the Corporation of Yaddo, Saratoga Springs, NY, and The MacDowell Colony, Peterborough, NH, and with grants from the Arts Council, England, and the Arts & Humanities Research Council, UK.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
RICHARD HOUSE is a writer, artist, filmmaker, and teacher. He is the author of two short dark novels, Bruiser and Uninvited, published by Ira Silverberg in the Serpent’s Tail High Risk series. He is a member of the Chicago-based collaborative Haha, whose work has appeared at the New Museum, New York; the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; and the Venice Biennale. He teaches at the University of Birmingham, and is the editor of Fatboy Review, a digital literary magazine.