Shakespeare & CO

“...Pensei que ia encontra em Paris uma cidade de sonhos,

No entanto não encontrei uma cidade menos bela, mas mais real.

Achei Paris linda, mas não vi nela tudo que dizem,

Pois vi Paris com os olhos de uma criança e não de um adulto.”

Bibiana Xausa Bosak – Jun/1997

“Run! Run! Fast you go!

Now, here! Under the stairs! Shhhhh!”

Suddenly there is silence

Sparking in the eyes

And a childish smile

Suddenly there is a door

I am back to the age of five, hidden in a tiny space under a book-crowded stairway, listening carefully to adults wispers and innocently smiling to what have become my very own fairy tale.

“Shhh! Quiet!”

More a couple of stories and here I go? Almost a women, playing of being a child who is pretending to be an adult.

The stairs: up I go, mesmerized with new each step of my wonderland. I feel like I’ve just found out Narnia inside de cupboard.

Some steps further: “the books in this section are not for sell, you are welcome to read them here”, said the sign. A look around revels a couple of beds: you are welcome to lay down. Further on I can see a foot; thoughts crossing; I kinda whish it was… but it is not, and I am glad…

Foot turns out to be a young brunette sitting down comfortably writing a letter, I ask for a piece of paper and a pen: Here I am. This other guy comes to join us. Tell some ghost story: A Adolf Hitler’s book felt over his head from no where, there was nobody else but him in the entire floor, bla bla bla… Few minutes more and some drunk fellow enters the room. He is drunk, he is kinda funny, but, hmmm, not really…

THE KID HAS LEFT BUT THE SMILE IS STILL HERE.

We are going to some place, 2,50 euros a pine, whatever… let’s go!

Its funny: We come here to find a magnificent city and what we ended up finding out is that Paris lives in the narrow allies, that Paris lives in the squares of sugar that we put in the coffee. And now that I can see Paris with the eyes of an adult what I like the most about Paris is that it brings me back my five years old smile and my mesmerized sparking eyes.

There is no point of coming to Paris as a child, part because one wouldn’t understand, and part because as a child one still have the capability of impress and enjoy oneself with every single detail. And the point about Paris is exactly that when you think you have seen beauty enough Paris presents you lights, Eiffel Tower, Sacre Couer, Louvre, Alexander III bridge, Champs-Elysèe…and when you think there is nothing else you can find joy in, Paris makes the corner and presents a nice Café with soul-warming drinks and comfort-generating smiles. There is no point of coming to Paris as a child because you need the eyes of an adult to see Paris not as a beautiful city, but as a dream like one.

Bibiana Xausa Bisak - Paris Jul/2006