-- Subtitle -- Of Euros and years, which has the greater value? -- Description -- Expensive Gifts is a forty minute audio story by M. David Romney. -- Excerpt -- Manolo followed the light down the corridor and past the plain wooden door, into an anteroom covered in Persian carpets and a mass of exotic clutter. The worn wooden furniture was missing most of its brass studs and its brittle satin upholstery was cracking at several seams. The incense burned in a large dish centered on a low inlaid table. There were no windows. The light came from a stained-glass stand-lamp in one corner of the room. He heard faint singing, and though he could make out the sounds the words meant nothing to him. Turning around, he rang a large brass bell hanging beside the entry, with a small plaque marked Ring for Service mounted next to it. Despite its mass, its gentle chime was no louder than the fragile tinkle of a silver dining bell. -- Author's Comments -- "I lived a pair of years in southern Spain. There's a peculiar atmosphere to Andalucia, as it's called, and a particular way about the Andalusians who people it. In Expensive Gifts I found a chance to tell a story that crosses cultural divides, but which plays in its particulars on the quirks of one very colourful culture. "Some details, including those of Manolo's profession, were inspired by a set of interviews (held quite ceremoniously, I assure you) at a pub in Buena Vista, Virginia. That's where Manolo's character began to take shape." (M. David Romney) -- Credits -- Written by M. David Romney Performed by Ken Richman Art by Tassya Putho Music by James Guymon Produced by MechMuse Audio Anthology at MechMuse.com -- 5:95333A:V:S:0:5 --