Malian TAAL MIACCR Cnn Ne ae a el ae en oe eee aad Ce eee eed ee ne a eee Cee ence nk aoe en nue cae ae u eee ro will not help my situation. | am alone. Now that | have regained consciousness, | gingerly lift myself to my feet. Looking down at my clothes, it strikes me odd that they look completely soaked. But | try and ignore what could be of any bother to me. After all See eI ee ee er ec ae stu ce ae can cee Re took the girls, and left me alone with my life. Coming back from work with a knit brow day in and day out simply killed it, killed it off, And then there were the weekends spent with the kids taking turns visiting my or eg nee eRe cu oe ee en ein ae all it was me who had to do this mundane job of road surfacing. And returning home from a hard day's work Oat Mau a ee ene nee RST ee Ree OAC eC Re Ce oe RO enc et of summers ago, she said she had no choice. Oe Sa ec a oe eC aCe) ee knew it had to be love, Just the way she used to laugh at all my silly jokes. Or the little sighs of cosy appreciation RR Rte eee nO eR eC eg ne es with her head rocked back when she came to scream in the end as the two of us were lost in an ecstasy of (Pou ees ee ne cca eR ee Back at home, | drop my damp clothes on the floor, and try to find warmth between the cold sheets of my bed Covering myself with the quilt proves useless — a feeling of intensified sobriety is filled with a new sensation of Cee We cee and ee oe an ener ues ee ee et in paved circles that are reminiscent of paint by number routines. | cannot help but let my mind wander from Pee ce Re eet ec eens eT cee ce my spin gains such momentum that it feels as if an invisible force has pushed me into a carriage of a crazed Oe me otCe r cu ec but I'm not drunk enough anymore. Outside, a bright day breaks for birds and other non-cognitive creatures. Lying in my double-bed, | can hear them joining in their daily routine of courting each other. A couple of pigeons have begun to stir in the Oooo me nn ee Ca SLs oot ONC since | moved into this council house, and they still coo like new lovers, affectionately rub each other's beaks, and groom each other's plumage in a most caring way. | can see the nest they have made for their nestlings, a coarsely spun web of twigs and small branches providing them with a hearth of scraggy, harsh and gnarled comfort. It is their home. The dove couple always sit on the same branch, and whenever one of them flies away, Ta UO SSR ea a eR eset Ce the third spring season has come to our neighbourhood, and their daily routine remains unfazed. They are unaware of any of their neighbours, and even a slammed window may at best make for a short fright, but is more likely unthinkingly ignored. Pigeons lead a steady life full of regularities and indifference. They chirp, shag, and chirp. Tessa photo: Torsten Miller