The Scarlet Pimpernel

Drahlen's Illusions

Not everyone has as vivid an imagination as forty-six-year-old Drahlen. Rather unusual things tend to happen to him. Who else would see a surrealist painting appear in the skin on their hot chocolate? Even his jobs are far from ordinary. He has had a few relationships of varying lengths and depths, but ultimately, he remains alone. He struggles with being the only single person in his extended family. Unexpectedly, a woman in a nightclub captivates him. Over the following days, they exchange text messages, and Drahlen, out of his own sense of unfulfillment, soon constructs an idea of a perfect relationship. Is his intuition correct? After all, there is so little certainty in his life… This satirical-realist novella, at times absurd, balances on the edge of grotesque and psychological drama, where nothing is certain.