If you get on Metro Line 13 towards Universitie Saint-Denis and get off at Saint-Ouen, take a left on the main street, and take another left on the second block, you will arrive on a narrow street that is built above two sets of train tracks. One track runs north outside of Paris and the other goes south into the city, probably stopping through Gare Saint-Lazare and maybe all the way to Gare Montparnasse and then to who knows where. The tracks are lined with graffiti, and if you take a left and continue to walk a dozen meters or so, you’ll find a little park with a bench on the side of the road. Adjacent to the park is an old brick building now used as a church. The church has three sets of large wooden doors. It does not matter which set of door you go through because they all open up to a wide set of stairs with marble floor. If you walk up these stairs and open the first set of doors on your left, you will find a large room with rows of wooden pews with hymnals and Bibles on the back. The ceilings are high, the windows tall, and there is a balcony above with more sets of pews. At the front of the room there are Latin words painted in large lettering on the wall. There is also a piano and a set of drums. This is where the church gathers on Sunday. If you walk to the front of the room, you will see the pulpit where the pastor stands. If you go on the left side of the pulpit and towards the wall, just below the Latin letters, there is a little wooden door. If you go through this door, you will find a dimly lit hallway. If you go through this hallway, immediately you will find a narrow winding staircase. Up the staircase on the first level, there is a white door on the left. It has a keyhole, and just like in those movies, if you bend down and squint your eye just enough, you can maybe catch a peep of what is beyond the door. If you twist the handle and open the door, you will find a small room with walls painted pastel blue. The room has a single bed against the wall, a desk, a wooden wardrobe with doors that do not close all the way, a sink. On the desk is a kettle, a bowl of oranges, and a stack of sketch books and a few tubes of paint. In the room is somebody who had never been in this room before today. When they arrived in the room today, they brought a suitcase, a box of art supplies, a bag of dirty laundry, some linens, a backpack, and two hundred euros give to the pastor for the first month’s rent. They are now sitting at the desk and writing about the new place they call home.
