The traveller only realises he is in Everyville when standing under the door jambs of its homes. Everyville was once an ordinary city, with identical architecture to its neighbours until the citizens developed the peculiar habit of removing all doors from their homes. Now, walking down the narrow streets the traveller will glimpse into the homes which double as public space, first the children playing, then young people cooking, then the game of chess. In the street an old man smokes, reclining by the fountain with his shoes off.
‘From now on I’ll describe the cities to you,’ the Khan had said, ‘in your journeys you will see if they exist.’ (Italo Calvino, Invisible Cities)
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