Guy´s Nightmare

As Avenue de la Couronne nears its end at the cemetery of Ixelles, there is No 476 with a clandestine bar. Guy goes there because he is lonely and seeking women. Ute is young and brimming with womanhood. Diane is a huntress who kidnapped a baby to protect it from harm. The stories interweave, as they usually do.

The second virus attack hit harder than the first one and people´s tolerance to restrictions has restricted itself. Nevertheless, the Corona Bar on the Avenue de la Couronne 476 “tenait le coup”, as they say in Brussels. When all bars in town closed again in the middle of October, the message of a clandestine drink place spread around and the bar crew had hands full of work. The barred windows overlooking an enclosed yard let little light in. That was good, as the windows could easily give the clandestine place away. The bar had easy opening hours, almost any time Now. It was good for more reasons; several unemployed people have found here a way to earn some extra money to the meager allowance the state offered. Continue reading

Posted in Katarina, Observing Brussels, The Corona Bar Stories | Leave a comment

Monsieur le Cardinal

Monsieur le Cardinal, vous me faites peur.

Enfant, c’est à mes cours de cathéchisme que je fis votre connaissance. Vous n’étiez déjà plus de ce monde, et pourtant votre ombre planait déjà sur vos lointains disciples. Continue reading

Posted in Observing Brussels, Yves | Leave a comment

Les ailes du désir

‒ Roxane !
Ce n’est pas évident de porter le nom de l’héroïne de Cyrano de Bergerac. Mais c’est mieux que d’avoir un de ces prénoms modernes, copiés sur les robomen : R1X1N, C1R2B.
‒ Roxane ! Où est ma tisane, s’il te plaît ?
GM m’appelle de sa voix majestueuse. On dit dans ma famille que je lui ressemble beaucoup. Pourtant, je doute qu’un jour j’aie son assurance et sa prestance. Continue reading

Posted in Veronika, Wings of Desire | Leave a comment

The Lake Question

She came out of the dense wood into the soft light of a receding day. Dusk fell earlier in September, bringing along coolness, freshness. Now, late afternoon, the world was still warm and dry with the summer fire. The color of the lake ahead of her was the perfect mixture of blue and green. The whole day she was looking forward to a swim, and then a dinner and bed in the B & B she´d booked before the trip. She came to the lake shore framed with stones, big, hard cushions, some creased, some even surfaced. She found one that accommodated her butt and crossed her legs comfortably, part of the tiredness washing away, before she even dipped a single finger in water.

Continue reading

Posted in Katarina, Wings of Desire | Leave a comment

Ute sort de la cabane

Après ses déboires amoureux pendant le confinement, Ute s’est mise à boire plus que de raison. Qui plus est, toute seule chez elle. En débouchant une bouteille de vin, commandée récemment avec le reste de ses courses sur Internet, elle s’amusait de la proximité de ces deux mots en français : boire – déboire.
En même temps, elle se sentait triste et se demandait si elle pouvait tomber encore plus bas. Non seulement elle était célibataire, mais en plus elle devenait alcoolique. La tristesse passait généralement après le troisième verre. Continue reading

Posted in The Corona Bar Stories, Veronika | Leave a comment