Book I · Chapter XVII
The Museum of Borrowed Faces
Roles adopted for survival do not all belong in the permanent self.
The Meaning
The selves required by different rooms may deserve thanks without remaining attached to the person who survived them.
The Story
Sal wore the caretaker’s face so long that the museum gave him a display case. It was a pleasant face: attentive eyes, a mouth prepared to reassure, no visible appetite of its own. The label read: **PERMANENT COLLECTION. ARTIST UNKNOWN.** After closing, Sal removed the face to polish it. In the glass behind the empty case, his reflection looked complete. He turned around. No one was there. The museum preserved every role citizens had worn to survive: achiever, peacekeeper, protector, invisible child, entertaining guest. People donated masks when they no longer needed them. Others visited in secret and tried old faces on again.
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