Rooms

i came to visit a new city today. it is always full of screams and fires?

[It wasn't until Helen's absence started to wear on him that he picked up the tablet that had spent the past several weeks collecting dust on his worktable. He's irritable. And bored. And doing his best to avoid the Sanctuary by hiding out elsewhere.]

I'm out of wine.

[Careless smudges of food on the paper precede the message. Then, there is sketching. Little stick figures begin to collect and spread on the page in bundles.]

dear sestra. today i fold all the clothes for you and kill rat in basement who chews your house. i set trap in basement for him, little scraps of paper. rats like paper they think are written with important things. i leave him there to scare other rats. why do all numbers in green phone ring and ring and ring and ring

soon you come home. i make house for you. i fill basement while you are gone with rats.

[A print of red, red lips. A few more dark stick figures, heavily outlined, and a small postscript.]

i run out of lipsticks from your suitcase so bring more.