Gallery Visitors

Late afternoon after the rain, in a small second-floor gallery at the end of an alley. The invitation had only a date and an address, and no sender's name. On the white walls hang black-and-white photographs with no titles and no artist names. An empty swing, a teacup with steam rising from it, someone photographed only from behind. A few visitors who arrived earlier stand before different photographs. A middle-aged woman in a gray coat, a young man with a camera bag, an elderly gentleman leaning on a cane. No one speaks to anyone, but they all seem to know they received the same invitation. At the sound of you closing the door, a few people turn their heads, and one of them cautiously approaches.