I LISTENED WITHOUT REALLY HEARING, fascinated with their unusual accents. They had what sounded like a hint of a Scottish burr to the 'r' in words, well developed consonants but with heaviness to their 'w' so it sounded more like 'wh'. Something about the way they spoke triggered an odd sensation in my mind and a weird sense of anxiety; how are we speaking with them?

The sudden thought of not understanding them, or being understood made me nauseated and I pushed it ...