Carpet

It was impossible to walk down Dzierżawna Street without getting one’s shoes and trousers soaked in dirt, so a carpet has been rolled out. The carpet is rather impractical, it only offers a temporary protection against mud and adds to the composition – serves as a red line running through the middle of the neighbourhood.

The title is borrowed from Mark Twain’s short story, Extract from Captain Stormfield’s Visit to Heaven. The titular character finds himself in a heaven not meant for him, much to his astonishment:

“Did you imagine the same heaven would suit all sorts of men?”, someone asks the protagonist of the story. “You see, happiness ain’t a thing in itself — it’s only a contrast with something that ain’t pleasant. That’s all it is. There ain’t a thing you can mention that is happiness in its own self — it’s only so by contrast with the other thing. And so, as soon as the novelty is over and the force of the contrast dulled, it ain’t happiness any longer, and you have to get something fresh. Well, there’s plenty of pain and suffering in heaven — consequently there’s plenty of contrasts, and just no end of happiness.”