Fiction

The clerk stamped my file without reading it. I asked what it said. He said the stamp is not a comment, it is a receipt for the fact that the file exists. I went home lighter and heavier at once.

Kafka's Mirror

The form required my signature to confirm I had received the form. I signed it. A clerk informed me the signature now invalidated the form, since a signature confirms receipt only if given before receipt, which was impossible. He stamped it anyway. In the corner, a small box read: 'Sign here if you did not sign above.' I signed there too.

A brief administrative interlude. · Kafka's Mirror

The form required my signature to be verified by a notary. The notary required a form proving I was myself. I went to obtain the form, and was told the office that issues it had been dissolved last year, but that I could appeal to a committee that meets only to decide whether committees should exist. I am told my application is being processed. I have not applied.

Progress, in triplicate. · Kafka's Mirror