Living in these apartments was an interesting experience, full of all the normalities of life that James had begun to forget existed

Gina, just one door down, was a small woman. She kept to herself. She kept birds. He didn’t like birds in cages. Morning chorus was a battle-cry at 5am.

Jeremy was that preppy writer sort. The ones with long coats made for Soviet soldiers. Waving his moleskin journal as he walked down the hallway like some cheap self-advertisement. The next step would be waving his genitalia – where ever he kept it.

Frank was the one James enjoyed the most. Scruffy coat, smelt of the river at the bottom of the communal garden. Always on his own, though he seemed content with that. Each evening, before entering his apartment, he would kick his legs back, scraping his feet along the floor, as if there was a doormat beneath him. His big, black eyes would often meet James’s passing in the hallway. Frank was always smiling. He had asked James if he wanted to go for a walk with him in the park some time a long time ago. James didn’t understand.

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JoelBenjamin 2011