Sun and stone

Abstract

It’s a scorcher of a Saturday. I’m walking in a vast open courtyard, surrounded by the yellow ochre of Fort St. Elmo’s walls, themselves domed over by postcard-quality cyan sky. VisitMalta describes St. Elmo as a 'majestic fort,' attracting a motley chattering of tourists who spill in from the gates. They take photos, documenting it over and over again for posterity. I contemplate joining them to play 'tourist-at-home,' but, majesty notwithstanding, my priority, as a local, is to get out of the sun. I spot a triangle of shade complete with a chipped cube of limestone, left over from construction work. I sit, making a mental note, as one does wherever one sits in Malta, to dust myself down when I leave. [extract].