A window is a lightbox of life happening beyond the limits of the interior, offering beauty and wonder regardless of the reality of life withinCredit:Olivia Arthur / MagnumOur familys share of the bedroom is closest to the rooms single window. There is a double bed which my mother and little brother Alex share, as well as a laundry basket, overflowing with clothes, and suitcases, stacked on top of each other, holding our possessions. An entire suitcase is dedicated to important documents, photos, memorabilia and my childhood drawings. This bag stays at the bottom ofthe stack to prevent Alex from turning itscontentsinto toys or a snack. For him, everything is exciting, new andworthy of being soaked with saliva.Surrounding our share of the room are two walls of painted plaster and two curtains, separating my family from another familys life. Alex is yet to understand that living in atwo-bedroom apartment with three other families may not be the norm. Hedoes not know that curtains do not always bisect a bedroom for two families toshare, or that anenclosed balcony is nottypically home toanother family.The rooms single window is a wonder forAlex a lightbox of tiny moving figures. Alexs favourite sight is a young man who arrives across the street with two yellow suitcases full of clothes. He picks up a railing and pallets from somewhere beyond the window frame and sets up between four concrete seats nestled by two large trees that obscure the shops behind them. From the suitcases he pulls out jackets, shirts andbucket hats until his pop-up shop isready for business. Alex always wells with excitement when our mother opens the window, even just acrack. The air outside is always crisper, carrying different sounds: the cars anxious to get on; the tiny people becoming louder; aweird vacuuming sound from the salon one storey below. He often tries to reach out to this little world, but the opening only allows his fingers to enter it.Next to the bedroom is a small living room. This space is primarily for the family of the apartments owners. It has an ornate handcrafted TV wall unit, displaying heirloom teacups, teapots and vintage crystal glassware that only come out on special occasions. The sofas are antique, stillin their plastic coverings, not to be usedcasually by anyone who is not a memberof the owners family.At the end of the living room is the front door, with a silver handle, chain and lock. There is a wooden chair next to the door which Alex once used to reach the handle but could not manage to open with the chair against the door. He gets upset with the number of people coming in and going out, not taking him with them. In his frustration, he returns to the bedroom window, where hehas the whole world at his fingertips. For Alex, this compact space remains filled with wonder. I yearn for his ability toexperience pure marvel. I dont go home too often; there isnt room for both of us.Explore the good rooms series, a collection of domestic spaces made, imagined or described by architects, curators and writers2025-01-16Kristina RapackiShare