U-Bahnhof Lipschitzallee

U-Bahnhof Lipschitzallee is the point where a tense subway escape nearly turns into another encounter with the people from the park. Its position beside the park’s front entrance makes the station a danger as well as a route away; when the train finally departs, its closed doors give the narrator a narrow escape and leave Djamel’s group behind.

Setting and Approach

The narrator sees Lipschitzallee coming up and chooses to ride one stop farther, planning to walk back rather than risk meeting anyone from the park. As the train moves through the tunnel, S44 tags on the walls mark the surrounding urban landscape. When the train stops at Lipschitzallee and the doors open, the narrator remains aboard.

The station’s proximity to the park makes the decision to stay on the train suddenly consequential. A group runs down the stairs, and some of the voices sound familiar to the narrator, though he cannot immediately place them. The approaching noise turns the station from an ordinary stop into a possible point of confrontation.

The Group Reaches the Train

The narrator recognizes the arrivals as the people from the earlier encounter. Two of them are carrying Djamel, whose head is covered in blood and whose eyes are closed. Seeing him injured prompts the narrator to wonder what Cem has done to him; the scene reveals Djamel’s condition but does not explain the full cause or extent of his injuries.

One member of the group, identified as the person who had filmed the narrator earlier, presses the door-opening button, but the doors remain shut. As the train pulls away, the group slaps its sides, spits at it, and shouts. A man jumps aboard at the last moment before the doors close, while the others—including those carrying Djamel—arrive too late. The narrator’s relief is tied to this small mechanical barrier: the train’s departure prevents the group from reaching him.

A Narrow Escape

The station scene reverses the narrator’s expectation that staying aboard will keep him clear of the park group. Their voices and arrival make the threat immediate, and the train’s delay intensifies the suspense; only its eventual departure turns the platform into separation rather than contact. The narrator describes this escape as the first good luck of the day, making the station a temporary refuge rather than a place of safety in any lasting sense.