Half a line of poor quality newsprint run off by the printers: Woman goes on leave and does not return. It was a normal thing for people to vanish. Every day the sun came out and so did the newspapers. In some corner of an inside page was a personal column. The word ‘personal’ could be suppressed or replaced by another word, without changing anything at all. Personal. Persons. People. The people. The nation. The masses. Words that mean everything and nothing at the same time. On page 1 there was a coloured picture of His Majesty. Life size with a large title: The King’s birthday party. People rubbed their eyes. The corners of their eyelids were careworn. They turned over page after page. They yawned until their jawbones cracked. The news appeared on an inside page, scarcely visible to the naked eye: Woman goes on leave and does not return. Women do not go on leave. If one does, then she does so in order to run some essential errand. Before going, she must obtain written permission either in her husband’s hand or stamped by her boss at work.
What do You think about Love In The Kingdom Of Oil?
