One Durian, Three Balconies
The student on the ninth floor is given a whole durian by a grateful neighbour and has no idea what to do with it. The smell travels. So does the invitation. A complete story.
The Lift Is Out Again
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Show notes
The Lift Is Out Again
A complete story. On a humid Sunday the lift at Block C stops between floors three and four with nobody inside, which is the best outcome, and the worst, because now everything must be carried. Encik Rahman, 71, retired postman and self-appointed warden, makes a list. Mak Cik Lim's sewing machine is on it. So is Mak Cik Lim.
- The stairwell as a village: who helps, who watches, who brings drinks
- The student with the rice cooker meets the laundry sisters
- A chair, four young men and one dignified aunty
- Running time about 22 minutes
Next week: a durian, a balcony and a disagreement.
Transcript
Hello, and welcome to Small Flat, Loud Kettle. I am Nurul Izzati Rahman, and every week I read you one quiet story about the people who live in one old apartment block in Cheras, Kuala Lumpur. Nothing bad happens. That is the point. Tonight's story is called The Lift Is Out Again. It is a humid Sunday, the only lift in Block C has stopped between the third and fourth floors with nobody inside, and Encik Rahman, retired postman and unofficial warden, has made a list of everything that now needs carrying up eleven floors. Groceries. A sewing machine. And Mak Cik Lim, who is eighty-four and will not be carried by just anyone. Put the kettle on, and listen for the stairwell. You are listening on Witspeak Podcasts.
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