chapter 16

Lizaveta walks to the chinese restaurant by Grove Street.

The chinese restaurant also sells Mexican food and calimari.

Lizaveta sits down and eats fried calimari.

A man comes in. He lays out porno videos on the bar table. He covers the entire table. He puts the porno videos back in his bag and leaves.

Lizaveta sees through the window a hamster across the street, walking back and forth on the sidewalk.

She goes to it.

The hamster walks and Lizaveta follows.

The hamster runs away.

"That's a white-tailed rabbit-dung eating hamster," says a shy homeless man quietly.

"Rabbit-dung eating," Lizaveta says.

"Rabbit-dung eating hamster," says the homeless man.

They look at where the hamster ran away, into a hole. They look for a very long time.

The homeless man is sitting and playing a guitar.

He puts his guitar in the guitarcase.

"Are you leaving," Lizaveta says.

The homeless man looks at Lizaveta's feet.

"Don't leave," Lizaveta says.

"Alright," the homeless man says. "I don't have anywhere to go anyway."

He takes out his guitar and plays purple rain.

When he sings he sings into the hole in the guitar.

Lizaveta watches and smiles at the man.

The man looks at the ground when he plays but when he sings he looks into the hole and sings into the hole.