TE20 Migrant Mosaics

Matthias Nawrat

in front of a window. The back wall was obscured by a palm and other tall plants. Another door led out of this room, revealing a section of a refrigerator.

So you want to remodel your flat, the architect said.

For the moment we’re just thinking about it, I said.

Everyone wants to remodel, she said. She laughed, and it was a childish laugh in a way, but also ironic.

She led me into another walk-through room at the rear of the flat, facing the courtyard. The room was slightly brighter around the window over the yard, but the light looked like it came out of a can, like second-class daylight. It seemed stale, barely reaching more than a metre’s radius into the room. On our left, a double door opened onto a large room with a balcony and window over the street, illuminated by sunlight. Yet before I could walk into that room, the architect closed the door and guided me to the dining table in the walk-through room. She herself sat at the top end.

Having sat down, I faced onto awall of book spines behind sliding cabinet doors.

Helpyourself toapieceof cake, thearchitect said, indicating apale streusel cake with white icing. That one is from the supermarket at the U-Bahn station you must have come from. The shop has next to nothing on offer, they’ve been saying it will be renovated for years. It’s supposed to be taken over by new management as

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