DANCING IN ODESSA
In a city ruled jointly by doves and crows, doves covered the main
district, and crows the market. A deaf boy counted how many birds
there were in his neighbor’s backyard, producing a four-digit number.
He dialed the number and confessed his love to the voice on the line.
My secret: at the age of four I became deaf. When I lost my hearing, I
began to see voices. On a crowded trolley, a one-armed man said that
my life would be mysteriously linked to the history of my country. Yet
my country cannot be found, its citizens meet in a dream to conduct
elections. He did not describe their faces, only a few names: Roland,
Aladdin, Sinbad.