Issue #52

  #1

  ROOM #6 FAIRLY LARGE
  COMPARED TO THE OTHERS.
  DOESN'T MATCH THE
  DIMENSIONS OF THE FLOOR
  PLAN. ADJACENT TO ROOMS
  #8 AND #15 ALONG THE
  NORTH WALL.

  #2

  STAIRS TO THE TOP FLOOR
  BETWEEN ROOMS #10 AND
  #13 ON THIS FLOOR AND #4
  AND #8 ON THE FLOOR
  BELOW. HOOK-SHAPED
  MARK ON THE WALL IN #7.

  #3

  HOW IS IT I'VE FOUND ONLY
  ONE DOOR AND IT'S
  WALLED UP? WHY IS THERE
  NO SIGN OF HAVING
  COVERED UP THE EXIT?

  #4

  CELL BATTERY DYING, CAN'T
  GET OR MAKE CALLS. HAD
  COVERAGE IN THE FOYER
  AND THE ELEVATOR.
  SOMETIMES VIBRATES LIKE
  RECEIVING A CALL, BUT
  NO ONE THERE.

  #5

  THE NOTE NEXT TO THIS ONE
  SAYS THE HOOK-SHAPED
  MARK IS ON THE WALL OF #7,
  BUT THIS MORNING SAW IT
  UPSTAIRS. WENT UP TO SEE
  BUT NO LONGER THERE.

  #6

  THIS IS ROOM #6. CONTENTS:
  TRUNK OF OLD CLOTHES,
  WALL CLOCK WITH HANDS
  RUNNING COUNTER-
  CLOCKWISE, RIPPED SHEETS,
  CHILDREN'S TOYS.

  #7

  ROOM #5, NEXT TO #3 AND #2.
  LARGE TABLE, NO CHAIRS,
  GREEN SOFA AND ARMCHAIRS
  NEXT TO WINDOW. NO
  BLINDS ON WINDOW.

  #8

  NO NUMBER ON THIS ROOM,
  BUT I KNOW I WAS HERE AND
  MARKED IT. A WALLED UP
  FIREPLACE IS HARD TO
  FORGET.

  #9

  I HEAR FOOTSTEPS
  OVERHEAD.

  #10

  THIS IS ROOM #16. HAVEN'T
  SEEN IT BEFORE. CAN'T FIND
  #10 OR #11 UPSTAIRS, OR #1
  DOWNSTAIRS. THE POST-ITS
  MUST FALL OFF AND FLOAT
  AWAY — OR SOMEONE'S
  TAKING THEM.

  #11

  THIS IS ROOM #1. HAS EN
  SUITE BATH. CONNECTING
  DOOR TO ANOTHER ROOM,
  WALLED UP.

  #12

  THE STAIRS SEEM TO BE ON
  THE EAST OR NORTHEAST.
  DAY TWO, NO SIGN OF MRS.
  DOLLER.

  #13

  ROOM #13. BATHTUB. ALL
  THE PIPES HAVE BEEN
  PULLED OUT.

  #14

  I MUST BE IN HELL.
  SEARCHED FOR AN EXIT WITH
  NO LUCK. NO ONE HERE, BUT
  I'M NOT ALONE. DOORS SEAL
  BEHIND ME. IT'S THE ONLY
  EXPLANATION. NO DOORS AT
  THE END OF THE HALLWAYS.

  #15

  THE ROOMS HAVE A SERIES
  OF MARKS LIKE THE ONES I'M
  LEAVING, CARVED ON THE
  WALLS WITH SOMETHING
  SHARP. SOMETIMES THEY'RE
  ON TOP OF EACH OTHER OR
  CROSSED OUT.

  #16

  IF THIS IS THE PENTHOUSE,
  WHY DOES ROOM #14, WITH
  NO WINDOWS AND ON THE
  SAME FLOOR, SHOW TRACES
  OF DAMP EARTH ON THE
  WALLS AND MOSS ON THE
  CEILING, LIKE IT'S
  UNDERGROUND?

  #17

  ROOM #2. THERE'S A SWING
  IN THE MIDDLE, DARK GREEN
  FURNITURE, MAHOGONY
  DESK AND AN OLD
  ENCYCLOPEDIA SET ON THE
  SHELVES. NO BOOKS
  PUBLISHED AFTER 1932.

  #18

  POST-ITS ARE RUNNING OUT.
  DAY THREE. I HAVE NO FOOD
  OR WATER. IF SOMEONE
  FINDS THIS MY NAME IS ARNO
  BRITTKOWER; A MRS. DOLLER
  HIRED ME TO SPY ON HER
  HUSBAND HERE. THE DOOR
  WAS OPEN WHEN I ARRIVED.

  #21

  ROOM #10. KITCHEN
  ABANDONED SOME TIME
  AGO. CANNED FOOD
  EXPIRED BETWEEN 1975-1978.
  INCH-THICK DUST. BRAND
  NEW WHEELED SHOPPING
  BAG NEXT TO THE STOVE.
  EMPTY.

  #22

  I FORGOT MY CELL PHONE
  UPSTAIRS AND CLEARLY
  HEARD IT RING FOUR TIMES.
  DIDN'T GET TO IT IN TIME.
  NO MISSED CALLS LOGGED.

  #23

  NO FAUCETS IN ANY OF THE
  ROOMS. NO LIGHTS IN THE
  HALLWAYS ON THE FLOOR
  BELOW. THE ONLY PAPER IS
  THESE POST-ITS. THERE
  DOESN'T SEEM TO BE AN
  EXIT.

  #24

  ROOM #20: DOVECOTE.
  FEATHERS AND A CAGE, BUT
  NO WAY OUT EXCEPT THE
  DOOR. ONE OF THE
  DROPPINGS IS STILL SOFT.

  #25

  SOMEONE IS KNOCKING ON A
  DOOR ON THE FLOOR
  BELOW. IT'S NIGHT. I'M NOT
  GOING DOWN.

  #26

  ON A WALL, HIDDEN UNDER A
  PAINTING, I FOUND THE
  WRITING OF SOMEONE
  SAYING HE COULDN'T FIND
  THE EXIT AND WAS GOING TO
  DIE HERE.

  THE WRITING ISN'T MINE.

Author and Translator Bios

An award-winning writer, poet, essayist and literary critic, Vicente Luis Mora (Córdoba, 1970) is one of contemporary Spain's most versatile authors. His work explores literature beyond the traditional boundaries of the print genre and emphasizes the writer as textual artist. He has published six books of poetry, four works of fiction, and five of essays; his work is included in a variety of journals and anthologies. In addition to his own literary production, Mora is one of the most followed literary critics on the internet and received the 2010 "Premio Revista de Letras" for Best Blog. "Exhibit 15" first appeared in Spanish in Subterráneos (DVD Ediciones, 2006) and then in the anthology Pequeñas resistencias 5: antología del nuevo cuento español (2001-2010) (Páginas de Espuma, 2010).

Catherine Nelson, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Spanish at Nebraska Wesleyan University. She recently finished a translation of The Sum and the Remainder (2011) by Irene Jiménez and currently is translating Belén Gopegui's novel Longing to Be Punk (2009). Her translations have appeared in InTranslation, Aldus, Indiana Review and MAYDAY Magazine.