Josef K woke up one morning to discover that his friend Gregor Samsa had been sent to a penal colony. He wrote to his father for advice, but never got an answer. He wrote to his grandfather, who wrote back that he would gladly write a report to the academy about Gregor’s situation. Josef then decided to go to the penal colony himself, but when he got there, the guard would not let him in to speak to his friend. He lost track of the days and weeks writing more unanswered letters to his father. Meanwhile, Gregor looked out the window every evening and watched the seagulls in the fading light. (Andrew Shields, #111Words, 8 November 2025)