. The washing machine had long since stopped working, so everything was done by hand now. When enough rainwater had collected, she would soak their clothes in the bathtub and hang them out to dry, letting the sun do its job. They didn’t bother with washing often; it was far too arduous, and quite frankly it seemed all rather pointless. They never saw anyone, never went anywhere, so why should she worry about how she looked? Sighing, Charlie went out to the small garden they had. When she reached the clothesline, she began to peg the clothes up one by one. She started to hum a tune, an old song by an old band that she used to like. She hadn’t actually listened to music for months now, not since they had run out of batteries. She still remembered, though; still had the music in her head, and sometimes she thought she could hear it floating across the wind, as if her favorite bands were all lined up outside, playing in Peterborough just for her. The music would get so loud she had to force herself to stop listening.
