The fierce July sun heated the surface of the roofs, and the cheap paint smelled a little. Most of the gray-pink slabs were in the shade of the awnings, but the smaller ones outside allowed it to heat up so much that if you stepped on it with bare feet it would be very hot. Motes of dust flew in the air, glowing like fireflies. Nameless birds cooed, most likely they were pigeons, but somehow wild and unsociable, since they could be heard, but could not be seen. Children about five years old were running around the territory and screaming joyfully, but when they ran into an elderly neighbor, they received a scolding and laughed, but only ran away a little more quietly.