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Fruits of Summer

Quiet Thrum

It was a strange building, instead of the usual rectangle base it was rather "L" shaped. In a more prosperous time, 1224 Roman Way had an identical "7" shaped building attached forming a small courtyard in the centre.

The French doors leading out to the tiny balconies had an unobstructed view of the vacant lot beside it. No verdant beauty either, despite being full of over-tall weeds. The cornucopia of human detritus added a bit of conditional colour, which did nothing to redeem it. Judging the neighbourhood by its run-down state, its many inhabitants wouldn't be sitting out enjoying the view.

There was a strange sort of tenant living on the sixth floor who did just that. Long after the residents of this depressed borough deemed it unsafe to linger outdoors, he emerged.

Alone he would sit with a tea cup or tumbler of amber elixir, on an even more incongruous leather arm chair. The chair was only present on this perch when he was. Many of the street lights have long since been shot-out, leaving the sky relatively free of light pollution.

The raven haired man was quiet in his way. He harboured a certain kinship with the astral bodies he observed so intently. Such was his quietus.

His solitude was a powerful balm, for his constant loneliness. Pride and abstraction kept him from seeking the society of others. Such people could never understand him anyway.

He was a famously short sleeper, only requiring four hours a night to fully recharge. Everyday was the same; up until all hours of the night, only to rise before dawn. There were days when he didn't sleep at all. The austere gentleman's life was a constant, pleasant thrum of self-discipline. It was for this reason he never used an alarm clock.

His life was not spartan, as many people would guess. This assumption was quintessentially indicative of how much people really know. And why should they care in any case, he was only ever home on holidays. The current residents had lived there since time immemorial. Of these fixtures, none could say he was unhappy.