Still Life by Edward Drobinski - HTML preview
Download the book in PDF, ePub, Kindle for a complete version.
Still Life
Page 95
The Library of Unwritten Books
Mystery: A hidden chamber contains books that haven't been written yet; but guests who read them vanish.
Solution: Albertina Agnes Mitchell reads each book aloud in reverse, un-writing the future. The guests reappear, slightly confused but fluent in palindromes.
The Velvet Plague
Mystery: A mysterious rash spreads among the castle's elite, shaped like tiny crowns.
Solution: Queen Maxima Furrbaby brews a poultice from ceremonial capes and catnip. The rash fades, but the afflicted now purr when pleased.
The Portrait That Blinks
Mystery: William I's ancestral portrait begins blinking at odd intervals, triggering minor earthquakes.
Solution: William I enters the portrait frame during a lunar eclipse and negotiates with his painted self. The blinking ceases, replaced by a subtle smirk that unnerves visiting dignitaries.
Unseen Watchers