Jointly

Two Shamo roosters, tall and upright with tight black-red plumage and small red combs, standing side by side in matching short black velvet capes with white fur collars on the smooth stone parapet of a medieval hilltop fortress, a crenellated stone tower behind them and hazy green hills falling away to the distant sea in morning light

Six Months Apiece

The republic has been run by two at once since the thirteenth century, so neither of them ever has to receive a guest alone. Today's arrives by helicopter and is gone by lunch. On the walk back up the hill they compare notes in low voices, and find they agree.

22 August 2026