Record:My wife hates me

(Night. Piqo Thipoqo opens the door to his apartment. It has been a long day, as usual.)

Thipoqo: I'm home, darling!

(There is no response from within the building. Thipoqo enters the kitchen.)

Thipoqo: Smells like something delicious in here!

(Silence.)

(Thipoqo examines a cooking pan. A single piece of flatbread, unbuttered, rests atop it. The pan is slightly warm to the touch.)

(There is no other food in the kitchen.)

Thipoqo: Ah! Tonight must be flatbread night.

(Thipoqo stuffs the entire piece into his mouth, chewing it for a long time.)

Thipoqo: You know I love it toasted. Thank you, darling.

(Silence.)

(Thipoqo leaves the kitchen, entering the communal room. He rests on a cushioned seat.)

Thipoqo: I tell you, darling, it's so nice to be home at last.

(He sits for a while, often glancing at the clock. The clock is not working.)

Thipoqo: Have you looked at the clock recently? I think it may be broken.

(Thipoqo stares at the clock, as if willing it to turn. It remains frozen.)

Thipoqo: Do you remember, darling, when we first ate a meal together, and you lost track of the day? I remember. You looked at me, and you seemed so frightened, and I thought something had happened to you. But you stared me in the eyes and asked if I knew the time.

(Thipoqo chuckles.)

Thipoqo: Of course you remember.

(...)

Thipoqo: It was such a special moment, darling. That was the first time I really saw who you were.

Thipoqo: And I still see that in you. Every day, darling. Frozen in your eyes.

Thipoqo: It's beautiful.

(Thipoqo exhales. He stands up from his seat, walking over to a vanity in the corner of the room.)

(Thipoqo looks at himself in the mirror.)

Thipoqo: I don't have my old light anymore, darling. My eyes have gone dark with age. But I have plenty of days ahead of me.

Thipoqo: I hope Giulio can cherish his own light while he has it.

Thipoqo: I know I say this sort of thing every night. But you must understand it's true.

(Thipoqo moves away from the vanity, heading towards the bedroom.)

Thipoqo: I don't mind getting older. We worked so hard for me to get where I am. I know aging alone can't oust me.

(Thipoqo places his hand on the latch to the bedroom door.)

Thipoqo: Truthfully, I don't want anything more, darling…

(Thipoqo opens the latch. He steps inside.)

Thipoqo: …than to spend my days with you.

(A photograph of his wife lays flat on the sheets. Thipoqo shuffles into bed. He turns the photograph over, rereading the note as he does every night.)

"Leaving today - with Giulio - you had a thousand chances - don't try to find me."

(Thipoqo turns the picture over again, staring his wife in the eyes.)

Thipoqo: I have you, darling. You're right here.

Thipoqo: I'll see you tomorrow.

― 83 PC