The Man Behind the Counter
03 · 17 scenes
- I · XVII
The Old Path
The worn path we always took, leading toward the football club where the years collected.
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II · XVIIThe Avoidant Friend
He turned away, unwilling, his reshaped ears now pressed close against his head.
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III · XVIIDrive To The Hotel
Suddenly the road, the family, the long pull toward a hotel that was waiting somewhere ahead.
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IV · XVIIThe Hotel Reception
The man behind the counter showed a price; a hundred-dollar bill lay there, refused.
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V · XVIIThe Cruiseship Lounge
A lounge with the look of a ship, four faces spread across the tables, a joke in another tongue.
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VI · XVIIRising In The Elevator
I came up in the elevator and watched the scene, until he saw me and his eyes turned red.
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VII · XVIIThey Flew At Me
The others caught on and came flying at me, driving me out of the scene.
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VIII · XVIIThe Swarm Of Faces
Empty space, robot faces with orange-red eyes whirling past, spinning me through the dark.
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IX · XVIIThrough The Tunnel
One flew into me and I was launched through a tunnel of shifting color.
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X · XVIIThe Solar Rooftop
A rooftop in the old work-city, the panels I once laid, the long drop below.
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XI · XVIIFlight Over The City
I jumped, and halfway down the falling became flight over the rooftops.
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XII · XVIIThe Bouncing Lasers
A red-eyed creature fired at me, and the lasers struck and bounced away.
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XIII · XVIIThe Gym Roof
From above I watched myself enter the gym, and at the desk I became the clerk.
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XIV · XVIIChecking Myself In
As the clerk I watched myself come to the counter, check in, and head for the changing room.
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XV · XVIIWatching Myself Train
I watched myself lift weights, move about, the phone resting between sets — how others see me.
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XVI · XVIIBack In The Tunnel
Then the tunnel again, and the open dark, where I opened my eyes.
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XVII · XVIIThe Visitor On The Bed
Someone sat on the edge of my bed in the half-light, and we spoke of the middle state.