Found: A Short Story
I recently found this piece below again. A little bit of truth and a little bit of fiction. The mundane nature of breakups and the process of sorting one’s life through objects is something that has always interested me. I did a photo installation project with a narrative that then turned into a clumsy voiceover nine years ago here.
The Way Out of A Man’s Heart
by Marientina Gotsis, (c) 2008Marjane opened the door of the apartment where she used to live. She walked through the front instead of the back door. She was now a ‘guest’ with a key. It was strange to be in the apartment that used to be theirs. It was now his. She walked lightly and respectfully toward the kitchen–afraid of an unplanned encounter. The last items to be removed per Marcel’s request were the contents of the fridge that reminded him of her. “I am now alone,” he told her staring at a frozen steak.
She opened the door of the fridge and stared at every shelf. A hundred memories flashed in front of her eyes and she slammed the door of the fridge shut. Marjane turned her back away from the fridge and looked at all the half-empty shelves that used to be stocked with “their” things. The fridge would soon be ‘his’. She opened the door of the fridge again and started putting items carefully into a paper bag trying not to think. She remembered the hundreds of times she must have filled ‘their’ fridge. There it was staring at her. She thought that by now he must have certainly thrown it out. She held it in her hands and examined it carefully.
Suddenly, Marjane heard a noise at the front door. She panicked thinking that it may be him. She grabbed the paper bag, shoved the last item in her purse and ran out from the back door. Marcel walked into the house from the front door and headed into the kitchen. He opened the fridge and inspected the shelves. He frowned and closed the door. He grabbed a paper towel and opened the fridge again. He wiped the ring left on a shelf from an item that was no longer there and threw the towel into the trash.
