amsterdam

AMSTERDAM'S NEWEST HOTSPOT RENDERS VISITORS SPEECHLESS

It is impossible to photograph the location, but it can be found behind these arches.

Amsterdam's city centre is littered with places to see, from bakeries with highly Instagrammable stroopwafels to deeply unInstagrammable spectacles in the red light district. But the city's hottest new attraction is unlike anything you've encountered before. Hidden behind the main library, on a street previously frequented only by delivery trucks, a mysterious alcove has quietly siphoned some of the city's TikTok lines. Tourists and locals alike are queuing to peer into this dark hole.

A visitor enters. Those waiting outside chatter excitedly about what might happen. Then a scream echoes from somewhere deep inside. Sometimes it lasts over thirty seconds. While it does, the entire queue falls silent, listening to the sonic resonances ripple outward. "I heard someone say the woman in there is a sage from Delphi," says Emmelissa, twenty-one, who has been waiting nearly an hour. "I'm not sure how that's possible. But it's definitely something I need to experience." Her friend Hannastacia, twenty-two, nods. "My cousin already went in. She hasn't spoken a word since."

How did word spread about an attraction that leaves its visitors without words? A library employee, who wishes to remain anonymous out of fear of a curse, offers some context. "About two weeks ago, a place called I LISTEN AND I SCREAM appeared on Apple Maps. People have tried adding it to Google Maps since then, but apparently it turns the app into an irreversible black void." Asked what he thinks is happening inside, his response is almost contemptuous. "It's obvious, isn't it? She listens, and she screams. I couldn't tell you why people leave in a catatonic state. But clearly that's the appeal."

We were unable to get a response from those exiting the cave. Their eyes had a distant, pensive quality. Before she entered, we spoke to a young woman who told us she wasn't remotely worried about losing her speech. "I'm just here to prove it's nonsense," she said. "Everyone coming out silent is in on it. It's performance art — some bullsh*t commentary on the gap between free speech and free action." We neglected to ask for her name. When she emerged, she would not — or could not — speak to us.

We contacted Google regarding the apparent app malfunction. Their statement was brief.

"Some things can and should not be explained."

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THERE IS NO ANSWER, BUT YOU WILL HAVE TO FIND IT BACKWARDS

Is "looking for the answer" the same as questioning?

short story about the water

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