A Chinese man clutching a briefcase turns and asks me
if he can walk to The Guardian offices from here.
He has some important papers to deliver.
And it must be done in person. He looks
over his shoulder. I say no sir this is Victoria.
Where does this train terminate?
It stops at Euston.
That's not what I asked.
Yes but you could walk from there.
I tire of his questions and fall asleep.
The lack of oxygen down here. And it's
all been so tiring lately don't you find.
With the recent manifestations. The
rumoured disappearances.
I wake in a startle and hop off the tube
two stops past my target. I half
recognise the streets and feel confident
if I keep walking I can find my way home.
It's not dark yet but it's not light either.
A gentle rain begins to fall.
An aroma of bonfires in the autumn evening.
A sign on the bridge up ahead.
Closer: it's a wooden, domino shaped, pulsing and
patterned artefact which is also emitting a hum or drone.
They say the pulses and hums are trying to tell us something.
I have a free app on my phone for just such an occasion.
It's called Rankor don't ask me why.
Such signs had been manifesting recently.
Go ahead and interpret this, I mutter.
We kept hearing about the signs
but this was my first sighting. The app seemed
unable or unwilling to deliver a clear translation.
I took a picture which I could study
if I ever got home. Once I got home.
