Gemma looked at the changing landscape of the country. It was a strange year. Millions stormed N.'s beautiful building and palaces, plundering all, taking all from N.'s people and packing themselves in the flats, which were barely able to contain them. The people of N., on the other hand, were afraid of sticking their noses from their hideouts, they barricaded themselves in basements,...

Old age is tricky. One day you're full of the joys of spring, walking vigorously, managing your household duties, weeding your garden. You fall for the good day, making plans for the future, despite the fact that the day before you could barely walk. The next day the last fire from the burning candle disappears, leaving the lingering scent of smoke. You perish....

John's mother opened a foiled package and set the fire on the stove. The meat was tender and it was frying surprisingly well. She ornamented the dinner with lettuce and tomatoes salad. She poured some wine into the glass.  She sat on the balcony to give the dinner a sparkle of fresh air and rustic charm. She was enjoying the undisturbed view of...

Martha stood by the window looking at the horizon. She was woken up by a strange attack of anxiety. She didn't know if the note she had left on the table was of any significance but she logged on the system and saw the transmission of Jacob's final confession. Martha had known about drugs since she started working in the office, but as...

John was placed in a ward with other 30 people. In the morning they were given portions of food to eat. Two hours later another portion was brought and the same happened every two hours till the day ended. In the evening they were washed under showers and allowed to sleep in bunk beds with little space for anything else. They were used...

Gemma woke up in her old room which back then seemed to be a lottery ticket to a better world. Her body was hurting still but there was an enormous power which made her forget about the bruises, wash and eat a meal to regain her strength. There was something which made her forget about the pain she suffered and the humiliation she...

'To kill me? I actually don't believe you have the ability to kill, Mel. Such a weak old man! It's funny how we see each other after all these years and we are still the same. The same younger brother. The same old house...' 'Right, why did you recreate the house in which we were living? Don't you have those palaces, don't you...

Adam observed the changing landscape with a fascination of an animal for the first time released from the cage. He startled at how different people looked, how beautiful the houses were and how many bizarre vehicles ran across the streets. After hundreds of kilometers, he could see black and white creatures eating the grass from the field, creatures which Gemma had called cows;...

'We made a permanent division. We chose the area we wanted solely for us. We collected the right people. We imposed rules. For some they were ridiculous. We scribbled down the measurements, eye colors, heights, width, the state of teeth. My wife would have fit the pattern without problems. I, on the other hand, didn't. Imagine my life in fear surrounded by decades...

'War? What kind of war?' Jacob raised his eyebrows. It seemed as if he had been annoyed.  'Let me tell you a story. On the day you left everything was fine for some time. People got used to eating vegetables. The father managed to buy the majority of the grounds and he rented the rest that people didn't want to sell to him....

It was the same exact house. If there were wax figures imitating the lives of celebrities and stars, if there were painters responsible for copying the paintings of the greatest artist, a genius must have been hired who built the same exact house kilometers from the original.  Melquiades gasped. This had to mean that Jacob missed both of them, that he remembered those...

It was like the dream that you're having when you can do absolutely everything: you can fly, jump over skyscrapers, move at the pace of a jumbo jet. N. was madness. People walked out of their homes and apartments and were waiting for the end of the world, paying bigger and bigger tribute to little rodents running along the streets. Mice felt that...

People don't change. They just grow old. How many wives had high hopes for their husbands to change, to overcome their weaknesses, inclinations to drink, cheat and gamble? How many adults were surprised by their childhood friends met accidentally after twenty or thirty years who hadn't changed a bit? They had a few wrinkles here and there, possibly they gained a few pounds....

Melquiades had a few long weeks to fulfill his plans. He was given the exact address of the palace occupied by Jacob, he knew perfectly well about the habits of the ruler, about the chambers he visited, his associates, co-workers, and enemies. Every time Gemma paid him a visit, he paid attention to her every word and noted in mind every trace that...

It was a strange experience to be forced into a train with hundreds of other people. John was intimidated and lost trust in the guards administering the process. He shouted that he came from N., that he was there originally to conduct cultural research but no one believed him. They assessed him, basing on his clothes, hair, and beard. They noticed that people...

There were four trains running at the same time in four different directions. One of them was heading to K. It was a modern train, half-empty, transporting a few commuters who were working in N. and were allowed to pay a visit to their family members and friends if those were still alive. In one seat by the window was sitting a half-conscious...

You could ask her again and again what she felt when Jacob entered the chamber with three other enormous men and told them to beat her. You could ask her about the pain that she felt, the pain of broken ribs, the insufferable torment of broken teeth and blood spreading from her mouth. You could ask her about how it was to be...

Adam started loving his life in K. He now owned a bicycle and a watch in quite a good condition. He finally found a girl of his dreams and decided to spend the rest of his life with her. They agreed that they were going to visit only themselves and reject other affectionate friends. He could read and write so with pleasure he...

Panic started spreading slowly among the citizens of N.. Jacob was away when all this happened, so Gemma was the sole royal witness of the behavior of all her people. Mice were noticed and their number surpassed the wildest expectations that she stored in her mind for what was about to happen. They were everywhere, from dustbins to basements, from pavements to the...

Things started changing very slowly. It wasn't solely the appearance of mice that disturbed the citizens of N. in their monotonous and peaceful day-to-day routine. Very few people noticed the presence of rodents but, since N. was devoid of any harmful and chemical substances which might have killed the unwanted visitors, mice had a great opportunity to reproduce. Even greater than in the...

John's mother was worrying about her son who hadn't spoken to her for weeks. She sent letters but no letters were sent to her back. She contacted the main unit supervising the work of his son, but they claimed that he was alive and simply busy doing his research. He must have forgotten about sending messages to her or the contact must have...

Jacob would visit her every night in her chamber and did exactly the same. He explored her body, played with it, licked it, touched it, which gave her tremors of disgust to him and herself equally, as he found her attractive but she didn't find him attractive at all. He was still handsome and a team of specialists were taking care of his...

The idea was to put the fully grown mice into the boxes made from wood. The boxes were to be taken to the train station and then placed inside the trains and transported to N. That was the queen's wish as Adam was to receive the message. Three men came to him a week before and gave him an envelope.  "Put our dearest...

Melquiades was fully aware that Gemma was at that exact moment with Jacob. He couldn't sleep for days in a row. He was waking up, sweating, worrying, dreaming a nightmare after a nightmare and was terrified. He remembered times when Jacob was fucking those girls from his neighborhood, he gorged on their breasts and buttocks, he fulfilled his wild desires in a sickly...

John woke up and moved the girl aside to take a deeper breath. This one was really clingy and she spent with him the last few days. He was a different man. He would waste hours observing people and trying to get to know as much as possible about their lives. He forgot N. Life there was fake and pretentious. Here he could...