Yves De Prà

Homo Faber - Elisabeth

Elisabeth, Homo Faber by Max Frisch

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The entrance looks funny and boring at the same time. It`s a normal door, wooden frame, a small oculus and two small plants, a rhododendron and some white lillies in the front. I smell the scent of fresh basil and tomatoes, in the corner of my eye i perceive a pot with boiling water. It hisses when the steam escapes, again and again the top flips, suddenly the frequency rises.

I knock.
Nobody answers.
But i hear music. Somebody should take the pot away from the stove.
I intrusively press the door knob, the door is open.
„Hello?“ I ask. Nobody answers.
I go to the kitchen and take the pot from the stove. Because of my hurry i didn`t realize there is music in the air. The voice of Edith Piaf sounds through the walls. I have time know to really look around. Many glasses and cans line the windowsill, an apple lies in two halfs on a wooden cutting board, a shiny sharp knives directly beneath it. The orange-white tiled floor should get a cleaning.
A far away breeze, almost like a womans voice, sounds through the house and catches my ear.
I follow the voice, on my way i pass a massive, yet light red staircase, and to my left i spot a small inner courtyard. I arrive in big room, high windows tell that the ceiling is higher than i supposed it. Pieces of an airplane model lie on a table and shine in the smooth daylight, dimmed by the white curtains. The voice gets louder, a spiral staircase that disappears in a pink hell attracts my attention. A look inside, the absence of a horzion messes with my sense of space, suddenly the womans voice that sounds like a breeze is gone.
I decide to leave when ultimately i hear footsteps, walking on soft ground.I look back. A silhouette dissapears behind a round piece of glass, edged by white brickwork. Steam vanishes the blue sea in the room. I try to get a closer look, finding my way by passing wild nature and blue steel beams. The garden is small, even tiny. It seems like nature fought it`s way into the house. When i finally arrive at the window, i risk a look. What i see amazes me and frightens me.

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