Grandma sees me thrashing. "If you`ll just watch for the breeze," she says, "you`ll cool off and fall asleep.?She cranks up the Venetian blinds. I stare at the filmy white curtain, willing it to flutter.
Lying still, waiting, I suddenly notice the life outside the window. The bug chorus shouts, "Ajooga! Ajooga!?Neighbours, sitting on their verandas until late, speak in hazy words with sanded edges that soothe me.
"Keep watching for the breeze," Grandma says softly, and I`m h-huh?in reply. Bugs ping the screen. Three blocks away a train rumbles by.
I catch the scent of fresh grass clippings. Then I hear something I can`t decode - perhaps a tree branch raking the shingles on the shop roof next door.
Sleepy-eyed now, I focus on the curtain. It flutters...
"Mum, did you hear that?"my seven-year-old blurts. "I think it was an owl family.?"
Probably," I tell him.Just keep listening...?
Without the droning air conditioner, the house is oddly peaceful, and the unfiltered night noises seem close enough to touch.
I hope I`m awake tonight when the first breeze sneaks in.