*This is a long work of fiction, inspired by my fantasies while working as a rural doctor in a small village. The character is based on myself, thus the 1st person. Please pay attention to the tags, and enjoy!*
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The afternoon breeze was always soothing to the mind, carrying with it scents of pine, thyme and mountain flowers, along with the occasional whiff of anything the grandmas around were cooking for dinner. Despite the relatively high altitude, the village’s proximity to the sea ensured mild winters and enabled me to savour the air and the last glimpses of the setting sun from the small balcony of my office with just my white doctor’s coat as an outer layer.
My small rural clinic was on the village’s main road, which was lined with beautiful stone houses with red sloped roofs, wooden window frames and tiny balconies, like mine. It was really close to my rented house, and just a stone’s throw away from the central square with its handful of quaint cafes and taverns under the shade of big plane trees. As the village was built on the side of the mountain, from one part of the square one could drink their coffee gazing down to the valley and all the way to the sea, a pleasure that even I as a city girl could definitely enjoy. It was such a shame that the back of the clinic building faced a tiny, tiny alley – a path, really- and another house, instead of being open to the same vista.