02:47
— overheard, booth 4
the piano plays itself
xity.bar

You have arrived too late and too early.

scroll
II the streets
03:14

You are walking down a street that was not there yesterday.

The buildings are taller than you remember. The signs are written in a language you almost recognize — the letters keep rearranging themselves when you look away.

— she ordered it straight

The door is already open. You do not remember opening it.

Somewhere inside, a radio is playing a song that hasn't been recorded yet. You hear it anyway.

Someone orders your drink before you arrive. You never learn what it was.

the clocks disagree. none of them lie.
III the interior
03:33

The piano plays itself. It is playing the song you have been trying to remember for seventeen years.

You are not sure when you sat down. The chair is warm. The chair has been warm for a long time.

Across from you sits a woman you have never met. She is wearing your grandmother's ring. She says nothing. She is also not a woman — the longer you look, the more she resembles a column of smoke arranged into the shape of a person.

At the far end of the room, a staircase folds back into itself. People are walking up it. They arrive nowhere. They arrive anyway.

The bartender is polishing a glass that is already clean. He has been polishing it since the room was built. He will be polishing it when the room forgets it was ever built.

— the piano plays itself —

The drink in front of you has changed color four times. You have not taken a sip. You cannot remember ordering it. You taste it on your tongue anyway.

she ordered it straight
— overheard, booth 4
IV the counter
03:58
01

"He said he'd be back in a minute. It has been six years. The stool is still his."

— overheard, booth 4
02

"Order whatever is on the third shelf. No one remembers buying it. That is why it's good."

she ordered it straight
03

"The mirror behind the bar shows last Tuesday. It is the best mirror in the city."

the piano plays itself
04

"Do not tip the ghost. He finds it condescending. Leave him a riddle instead."

booth 7, after midnight
05

"Every glass in this room is full of something you almost remember. Do not drink the last one."

— the barkeep, probably

The counter runs toward a horizon that keeps moving. You slide along it and never reach the end.

V the departure
xity.bar
04:03

You step outside. The door closes. It was never a door. The street that was not there yesterday is not there today. You will not remember how you left.

YOU WILL NOT REMEMBER HOW YOU LEFT.