Publikacija SEP 2011 - Vilenica

some magician-like gestures. The tone of his voice is intimidating.
“And he said, ‘Hey, little boy, you’re not even eighteen, and you want
to screw. Buahaha!’ He imitates the man’s awful laugh. His flat echoes
in reply: Buahaha. The flat that is no longer his. I light a cigarette and
my burning match says: shoo Ozan. “Then I showed him my passport
and told him: “Hey, man, I’m twenty-six.” And he said: “Yes, but eight
years ago you weren’t twenty-six, and this sort of treason doesn’t have
an expiration date.”
He hugged his knees to his chest again and grew silent. I became
aware that there was no room for me in his arms anymore. But where
did I go wrong
“You really don’t get it, do you” I waved my hand, encouraging him
to proceed. “You really thought that I was a photo-model, agent, fashion
designer, Gucci, whatever…” I listened to him. “You want me to tell
you” he says aggressively and bitterly. “You know the clothing shop in
Thaliastraße” I wasn’t familiar with the clothing shop in Thaliastraße.
“That’s where I was selling clothes made in Turkey every single day and
night. Or – to be precise – I was selling rags and bling every day, and
during the night I was doing the transporting and storing.”
“What about all those fashion magazines, your Italian designer
shirts...”
“Oh, I bought them at newsstands and online”, he waved his hands
in the air as if he were dispelling illusions but with an embarrassed
smile on his face.
I grabbed him with both hands. He remained silent and distant.
At one moment, we both glanced at the pile of emigration documents
scattered on his desk. Like useless photographs, they only said: This
was Ozan’s life. A testimony and investigation of some crime that had
never been committed.
“Yes, I was carrying the dusty underwear in and out of the storehouse,
changing labels, doing daily accounts. Back then, you wrote
about that Disneyland!”, he shouted arrogantly, alluding to my work
on the architectural design solution for Vienna’s City Hall façade,
which he referred to as “Disneyland”.
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