1. Dusk. Static House.
SUBTITLE: Jazz playing in low pitch.
2. He crops up on his elbow, rubs his eyes and yawns silently. The delicate lamp on the nightstand is switched on.
3. He puts on his velvet slippers, and falls back in bed.
SUBTITLE: Muffled thud.
4. His toes budge, soundless breath escaping from his dry lips into the imperfect darkness.
5. The hands walk to half past nine.
6. He walks to the kitchen, unattired, only in velvet slippers.
SUBTITLE: Tick, tock, tick, tock.
7. He pulls open the wooden drawers and examines his silverware.
8. He sets them on the table in a scrupulous order: plate in the middle, forks go to the left, knives and spoons go to the right.
9. He adjusts the knives of assorted size to ensure that the cutting edges are facing the plate.
10. He takes out a bundle from the ebony cupboard. It is wrapped in fine velvet.
SUBTITLE: Metal clanking.
11. He unravels the bundle. A couple of silver cups scatter away from each other.
12. His hands fondle around the rims of the cups. He holds up one of them and buries his pointed nose deep into it.
SUBTITLE: Sniffs.
13. He places the cups one by one by their proportions, on the top right corner of the plate, and right above the knives and spoons.
14. He takes a step back from the table and studies his work. For a moment his hands attempt to find a pocket to rest themselves, but only to meet the hairy thighs.
SUBTITLE: Scratch. Skin groans.
15. He watches the arrangement as if it is a silent film, until a look of some satisfaction appears on his face.
16. He sits down in the slender caquetoire, in front of the empty plate, and savored his feast.
17. The dim light of dawn fails to penetrate the thick velvet curtains.
18. He puts on a pair of mittens and falls asleep in the dark.
SUBTITLE: Rumble.
Photo Credit: John Singer Sargent
