Front

There’s a hot wind blowing from the west, whipping up the clouds in the upper atmosphere - big and frothy with crisp edges picked out by the sun. It’s the fourth day in a row that has reached temperatures over 30 degrees. Without the air conditioning at the office the hot wind is a welcome respite. 

The cat is hunting mice in the bamboo from next door that juts up against our wire fence. She pokes her arm into the dead leaves that have accumulated and burrows down to see if she can catch them. I can’t see them. I wonder if she is just chasing the wind in the leaves.

Sounds of children playing outside have rung out all day. Heat excitement. 

The slow rumble of thunder rolls through the sky in the distance. Underlying the sound of the urban trains going past, the wind roughing up the leaves, and the distant dual carriageway. Absolutely no emergency vehicles. My neighbour is out, his only presence the click of his cigarette lighter.