The Unravelling


or

We know how much you like dreaming so we put a dream inside your dream so you can dream while you’re dreaming.

On the plane I woke up with an idea for a dream.
It’s about a man.
Every time he wakes up he is somewhere else. Always himself but in a different place, a different life.
The dream is called Letting The Days Go By (with thanks, of course, to David Byrne) because the man simply accepts his fate, whatever it is for that one day, safe in the knowledge that the next time he wakes up he will be somewhere else.

I don’t want to try too hard to tell the story. The images will tell the story. It’s all in the unravelling.

I am 9241212. I live under the Nationalstrasse A3 next to the river.

I used to be a touring cyclist in Italy.

I was famous in my area but it was always a local fame. I couldn’t make it in the big tours, they were too long, too hard. Then they caught me doping, Clenbuterol, blood transfusions, everything. I still have a scar on the inside wrist of my right arm. Some of the people I meet under the motorway think I have been jacking up. Once they beat me because they thought I had some more gear and I wouldn’t share it, but it wasn’t true. It’s just a mark from that time, like the number above it. One mark from the past to remind me who I was, one mark to tell me who I am. Every morning I wake and look at my arm to make sure I am still who I was yesterday. Every morning I see I am 9241212.

I am Ü30. I am an anarchist.

I sprayed INSURRECTION! on the side of the building housing the CD und DVD Copier Service. The Borse is just around the corner. I was going to spray it there too but I ran out of paint.

I am Magda. My family has lived in Zurich for generations. I walk my dog by the lake. I always pick up the mess and put it in the correct receptacle. I like everything to be tidy.
I have the mark of a black star on the inside of my wrist on my right arm. The doctor calls it second skin. I try every day to wash it away. Sometimes my skin is red raw with so much scrubbing and washing. The doctor says it is second skin but to me it just feels dirty. It is a blemish, something that must be cleaned up and kept out of sight, like the dog mess in the park. I like everything to be tidy.

I have heard from a friend in London that they have a laser now that can agitiate the particles of black under the skin and make the star fade, like rubbing out the past. The light here by the lake is so beautiful at this time of year.

I am Christopher. I remember this bench. I sat here in 2006 when I was on tour and I enjoyed the moment. Now I am here again somewhat older and none the wiser, enjoying another moment of peace and contemplation on the bench by the lake in the sunshine. Tea leaves settling in the tea pot of my head. I am happy here, just me and the bench by the lake in the sun.

My name is Amorchetti. I am 35.

I left this lock by the water, symbol of my undying love for Ms V, before I let my body fall into the lake, the water was cold as It took me down into the icy dark.

I am E. Bär. I live in a flat in the old town. I like to eat spaghetti and my girlfriend’s name is Vermicelli. She is from Lugano.

I always find it funny when I walk past the shop and see her name in the window. She used to live with another woman but now she is married to a man. The woman died in a tragic boating accident, down there on the lake. The water is icy bright and minty. The light there is so beautiful in spring. We have been seeing each other for 17 years. Nobody knows about our relationship. Not a soul. It is our secret.

She is fond of Lemon Ravioli. I bought her some yesterday. So expensive now.

My name is Kuno Gyax. I hate that Schweizer/Hunziger couple who live below me. They make so much noise when they have sex and they have sex so often.

My name is Ry Mates. I live with my wife, Maya. Sometimes when we are feeling naughty we check into the Hotel Splendid and pretend we are lovers from different countries. We pretend we cannot speak each others languages. We can only communicate with signs and gestures and touch. We fuck.

Then we have a glass of sekt in the Splendid bar. The bar has a wonderful faded glamour that really appeals to me. For me this kind of sex always brings a good orgasm.

I am Otto. I work at the Elektrizitatswerk Der Stadt Zurich. You know, the one at Selnau, next to the ÜBanhof. It is important work and security is tight now. I cycle to work every day along the river. The Nationalstrasse 3 runs above. The railway line alongside. It is a corridor of transportation. Today I found a body floating in the shallow water. the police say the man had no identity card, just a number tattooed on the inside wrist of his right arm. They say he was called 9241212.