Aphantasia: A Floor Plan by Josepha Natzke

Front Stairwell

The home’s previous owners painted the stairwell a dark mauve. You and I are close to the top step. The white beam of our bed frame looms between us, its length caught on the last corner.

Since we have been married we have moved four times, and every time we move furniture together, we argue. I find myself warning you of this each time. Don’t you remember? This doesn’t go well, does it? We approach these tasks very differently. I plan, you move. I fret, you haul. We sweat and grunt at each other. The sharp edge of the bed frame digs in at the soft pink of the wall, exposing chalky plaster beneath.

We argue angles. I think the gash on the wall is your fault. There is a clouded window watching us from above, its frame the color of a thorough bruise. Also above our heads, a framed painting that the previous owners, whose names we know from the closing documents are Maximeno and Ramona, left behind: a man and a woman, dancing together.…