The Disappearing Kitchen

For a long time I had always taken a little delight from this window as we passed it on the way to and from school, revealing a well-stocked kitchen, with a tempting variety of oils, vinegars, wines, herbs, and sharp knives, and tasteful framed prints on the wall. And then one day, it was gone. Everything had been cleared out and the room stared back at us, bare and cold and dusty.

Someone else must have felt deprived of pleasure too, for today appeared a message chalked on the pavement: 'What happened to your beautifully decorated kitchen?'