The living room

Les Halles, some describe it as a hole in the heart of Paris. Today it has become an underground mall topped with park like open space on the surface. At each side of the Halles, escalators drag people up and down, from the subway to the shops, from the shops to the surface. Exit Porte Lescaut, the rolling stairs lead up to the bustling streets, shops, and houses. In the opposite direction a glass bay window looks out at Les Halles' surface: a cityscape spreads out to the eye. On the left an old fashioned merry go round turns, in the center the park ends with a view of the stately dome of the Bourse du Commerce. On the right a modern fountain spurts no water and maybe you can see the tip of old Saint Eustache. In a corner, half hidden behind a pillar, a woman with a crutch, belongings piled on an airport cart, sits on a broken down office chair. In this improvised living  room she sits all day,  looking out at the view from the window.