An Evening on the Terrace (Premium)
00:00 Hi, Thomas here. You're listening to a preview episode. You can enjoy the entire story tonight by subscribing to our supporters' feed. There you'll get access to the entire back catalogue, bonus episodes, and more, and it's all completely ad-free. Click the link below to learn more and thank you so so much. Me and the team really appreciate your support. You've been relaxing in a deck chair on a rooftop terrace for a while now. Reclined and watching the clouds come and go. You're starting to feel pleasantly tired. Perhaps it might be nice to walk around the terrace and admire the view, you think. Slowly raising yourself out of the deck chair, you stretch your arms and legs.
01:13 Your whole body is relaxed, and your skin has been gently warmed by the afternoon sun. It's the perfect outdoor atmosphere, a soft golden sun that warms without burning and a blissful sea breeze. The breeze that carries the clouds away comes back every now and then as a sudden gust of wind. It blows through your hair and ripples your clothes. You walk around a row of potted plants to the nearest edge of the terrace and lean on the wall to see what's below. From this side you can see the private courtyard, a paved square with a small garden and fountain in the middle of the building.
02:22 Although you're high up, you can just make out the soft trickle of the fountain below. At this time of day, there aren't many people about. You see a dog trot across the courtyard, wagging his tail. He jumps up and puts his paws against the edge of the fountain, but he's too small to reach. Then, he spots his owner, slowly following his pup across the courtyard. The old man picks up the dog and holds him to the stream of water flowing from the fountain. The dog laps it up gratefully, gulping down the cold water for what feels like a long, long time. Eventually the old man lowers him to the ground and the two walk off into the shade and
03:30 disappear from view. There aren't many other signs of life in the courtyard, but looking carefully, you catch sight of a couple of other inhabitants. There's a girl sitting in the shade of the palm trees, cross-legged on the grass. You can just about see the white paper in her lap. You watch her hand moving up and down over the paper. Is she writing or drawing? It's hard to tell from up here. You imagine her writing a story, or perhaps sketching the fountain in the courtyard. Whatever
04:21 she's doing, she's found the perfect shaded spot. Most of the windows around the courtyard have their shutters closed. But you hear the distant squeak of a shutter opening and see a head emerge from a window on the second floor, just above where the girl is sitting. Although you can't hear what they're saying, you can hear the muffled voice of the woman talking to the girl on the grass. They continue the conversation as the woman hangs out her washing to dry. There's a short washing line beneath her window. You watch her
05:08 shake each item of clothing to smooth it, then position it carefully on the line and peg it in place. There's something soothing about watching domestic scenes like this. The repetitive, yet calming routine of hanging out the washing. It seems to happen in slow motion. You continue watching until the woman finishes and disappears inside the apartment. The girl goes back to writing or drawing, and the courtyard is quiet once again. Nothing but the trickle of the fountain and a few cicadas in the trees. you
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