3 a.m. magazine has brought out Hisham Bustani’s “Stardust,” translated by Maia Tabet:
From the story:
HERE. A light glimmered ahead and his excitement rose as he set off towards it. He noticed the people around him for the first time and they were all walking in the same direction. He quickened his pace, broke into a run, but felt he was running in place. When he looked at the others, he noticed that the distance between them remained unchanged.
For a moment, he almost thought he should stop but just then, as if about to collide with his head, HERE lit up again in front of him. It went off but then it drew closer, he was sure it was closer. He spurred himself on. He licked his upper lip with his tongue and bit down on his lower one, the sweat beading on his forehead. He wiped off the droplets trickling into his eyes with his shirtsleeve. He could feel himself getting hotter and his heart beating furiously: apartment, car, cell phone, sexy girl, shiny glass buildings … threshold to HERE.
It all looked so close but he didn’t seem to be making any headway. Looking at one another, the others hurried on past, quickening their pace.
