Room on the 8th Floor

Hotel Mandala Potsdamer Platz, Berlin Monday, May 5, 2025 10:41 pm

Inside the room:

Large TV screen, turned off, but with a tiny red light glowing on the bottom right
Three photographs of Berlin street scenes on the wall, black and white
Work desk with a lamp
On the desk, instead of the obligatory Bible, a small booklet with dark blue cover, titled — in white text — Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Two large windows on the opposite wall, facing the street, with light-blocking sliding curtains on both ends, ready to be drawn to the middle

Outside the room (through the two windows):

Twenty-four of the windows on the top three floors of the Filmhaus building at the Sony Center, the top floor’s eight windows are lit up
The lit up canopy of sails atop the Sony Center, with its light oscillating smoothly between purple, violet, and blue hues
One blinking star in the sky — Sirius
No other stars visible due to city lights

Sounds:

Constant white noise made by tires of one car after another going on Potsdamer Strasse; no sounds of car engines
Periodic sounds of a bus engine