Old Shanghai was dying, losing between three and six streets a day. The modern city was strangling it among its many skyscrapers. Soon, in a few years at most, it will have disappeared. Yet, through
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When he was small, he had always dreamed of being an astronaut. Unfortunately, he was hopeless at astrophysics, but that had not stopped him from becoming the best geneticist at NASA. The day he
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In the Niger River region, there is a town whose name is the stuff of dreams: the mysterious Timbuktu. They say that, a very long time ago, the nomads entrusted the care of a well there to an old
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Her eyes have been open for half an hour now in the darkness of the bedroom. She always prefers to wait for the sunrise. Gently, she removes the thick duvet and seeks out the warmth of her slippers
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I don't want to boast, but I've just pulled off a real masterpiece. At the age of seventy-five, I have become the unrivaled outrageous old lady of Moussy-lès-Limas. I live in this peaceful little
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The intense yellow sun was high in the sky. The fields were hot and the earth burned the feet of the men running in front of him – they wore no shoes and no one knew why.
We were lying on the beach. Marie, who felt the cold less than I did, had gone for a swim after our picnic. She'd come back to lie next to me, without drying off, enjoying the hot sun on her wet
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All adults have, in their memory, the places which defined their childhood. They just have to shut their eyes to visualize them and the feelings associated with these places come flooding back. When
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Pa had always had a lot of respect for Sam's grandmother. That must have been at least partly to do with what people in the village used to say about her. Pa used to say that civilization took
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Nolan had gotten up early that day. This was unusual enough in itself. He had grabbed the bag lying on his desk chair. He had only decided to leave a few hours earlier. He had resolved to do it
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"Come on, come on, come on, before the moment's gone" The lyrics of "No. 1 Party Anthem" by the Arctic Monkeys rang through the summer air. It had been a red hot summer, right from June, covering
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I am waiting for Bernard. He should have been here at 10:30, and it's already 10:32. Something is wrong. Bernard is never late. When I'm even a tiny bit slow in getting to our daily game, Bernard
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There were two old men sitting on a bench. They looked as if they were waiting for a bus, but when the bus went past, they were still there. The one on the left was holding a bunch of flowers. The
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I am waiting... I am waiting. I have always been waiting. My eyes are closed, as they have always been. My hands float in front of my face, and even if I can't see them, I know exactly what shape
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I can see myself going into my shower, quite happily, whistling. I can also remember that irresistible urge to smoke. The one that comes upon you anywhere, at any time. And you have to obey it. So I
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I already know so much about you, and yet I have never actually seen you. For six months now, I have been passing you, sensing you, hearing you, closing my eyes when I
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It was November. It was cold; below the seasonal average, the weather forecast said. The wind swept the dead leaves along in gusts. The sky was a cold, clear blue. Really not the weather to be put
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