Derelict 13

The Diary of Arthur C. Gimbley

5 April

What about the delivery of Verbiest? In the meantime, we have barricaded ourselves in the abandoned supermarket Derelict 13. Two of the students have presented themselves to the chief magistrate to pick up the delivery of Verbiest. Two times three. Sixteen horses. Four quinces.

6 April

You can squeeze the lemon completely. You can get much more out of the thing than a sour for your croquettes. Get the dough out and give it to Penna; she will surely bite into it. The dust mites in Emma's bedroom have been eliminated. We have opened the windows wide and a lot of light has come in. The whole migration has come to me. Start baking now, because I need it.

8 April

Buckets of rain are falling from the sky. When you look up, your face is washed clean. The lakes have weathered themselves but they overflow magnificently. The way we walk next to each other reminds me a bit of school children in harness. But we manage to shout loudly and also sneeze once in a while. We regularly jump on our bikes and find presents under bridges hidden in overgrown vegetation. It is difficult to adapt to the dangerous conditions, but love keeps us upright.

9 April

Donny has resisted the arrival of May. We will all resist if the bankers start to stir. You cannot expect us to simply surrender. We are not going back to the days when current loans keep us grounded; let alone the suffocating insurance of our former life compartments.

10 April

In Shedungent, the castle of Queen Ch-Mi, there has never been a mention of debts to the government. Of course, there are those half-wits who think they know how things are, how much debt we owe to the nation, but you can't accuse the bankers enough of vampirism. They smell money and blood and that is exactly why I always make sure that there is a lot of cleaning vinegar in the house to drive away naughty spirits and especially garlic and lemon, to scare off proverbial vampires.

12 April

We hurry to the sleeping place by the boiler room, where Rita's marmot has entrenched itself in the polyester protective fabric of the pipes. But we can still dance if the morning starts slowly and the bankers' children have been taken into confidence. We will teach the vampires a lesson; you will soon see it on Rita's face when her marmot transforms itself into a French toast. The pans in which the nuns of St. Eustachius have fried eggs have still not been cleaned, which does not do our chances of success in the arena any good.

13 April

If you wait until the night owls have feasted on sparrow eggs, then hopefully you can enjoy the sunrise and the free love between the heavenly bodies. What you can also do is share the science of the lakes with the locals. The people have joined the Union of Supermarkets. You would do well to pack your bags before you know what. Edwin, if you are reading this: don't forget me when it comes to that.

14 April

Too bad about the brake on bicycle sales. We could celebrate the joint trip to the sea and the renewed celibacy of Antoon in style. Our people are fearless, eager to learn and curious about the appearance of the body of water called 'sea', but you can't possibly get them going without the help of at least a few wheels.