Don't bother your neighbours

When the walls in your apartment are thin, you learn a lot about your neighbours. Their daily noises become familiar. The old woman next door who listens to records late into the night, the young couple above you who are still in that honeymoon phase, and the woman across the hall with the fussy baby.

It used to bother me, but I suppose we learn to tolerate things, especially when we take the time to get to know people. The old woman once mentioned in passing that her late husband was a concert pianist, and after that I couldn’t hold the three AM piano music floating through the walls against her. I caught a glimpse of the young couple through the window once, laughing and dancing in the rain, and it reminded me of having been young once too. And Annika, the old woman, told me in hushed tones how the woman across the hall had moved and changed her name just to get away from her daughter’s father.

I became so accustomed to the noises that their sudden absence was almost immediately noticeable. At first, though, I didn’t think much of it. I figured Annika’s record player might have broken, Jess and Alex had argued, and Maria had finally gotten Ellie to sleep the night. Still, the quiet felt… lonely, in a way. And after a few days, I began to feel I should make sure everything was alright. What if Annika had had a medical emergency, what if Ellie’s father had found her and Maria?

Slightly self-conscious, as I had never before approached her like this, I knocked on Annika’s door. I heard the shuffling of footsteps before the door opened. Annika looked at me, but didn’t say anything.

“I’m… sorry to bother,” I began. “I just wanted to make sure you were alright.”

She was frowning, staring at me coldly, not saying anything.

“Again, I didn’t mean to… I’ll just go,” I said awkwardly.

As soon as I turned around, the door closed behind me, and I was left wondering whether I had unknowingly done something to upset her. I decided to visit Maria next; I’d make sure she and Ellie were okay, and maybe she’d even know why Annika seemed to be angry with me.

Maria opened the door without saying anything.

“Sorry to bother,” I said again. “I’m probably being silly, but I just wanted to make sure everything was alright with you two.”

She just stared, frown on her face. I smiled awkwardly. The door closed in my face.

I went back to my apartment, confused and slightly hurt. Although we weren’t really friends, I had still felt as though I was on somewhat good terms with my neighbours. I didn’t understand what I had done that would warrant the silent treatment.

That evening, more so than before, I felt the heaviness of the silence and I longed to chase it away. I turned on the TV, not because I particularly cared about any of the programming, but because I just needed to hear something. 

It had only been a few minutes, when I heard something outside my door. When I went to check, I noticed a note had been dropped through my mailslot. When I folded it up, all it said was: QUIET

Had my television really been that loud? I went back to the living room and turned down the volume until the people on TV were basically whispering. I felt like I was already on thin ice with my neighbours and didn’t want to agitate them anymore.

Again, a few minutes passed before another note was dropped through the door. Same as the last. I gave up and turned off the television. I picked up a book to read instead, but found that the silence, strangely, made it harder to concentrate.

Although I didn’t love my job, I was happy to head out the next morning. Stepping out into the street and hearing the sounds of people and cars was suddenly nice. I took the bus like every morning. Usually Jess took the same bus as me to work, but this morning, he wasn’t there. Come to think of it, he hadn’t been on the bus yesterday either. Being out sick probably explained why Jess and Alex had been quieter than usual, I thought.

On my way home from work, I picked up a pair of headphones. I’d decided it would be a good way to avoid sitting in silence at home without bothering my neighbours. I decided to put them to use when making dinner, and chose a podcast to listen to. I wasn’t really paying attention to the topic, I just liked listening to the voices in my ears. As I sat down to eat, I clicked play on the next episode.

Because of the headphones, I didn’t hear anything, and didn’t realize another note had been delivered until I saw it in front of my door when going to the bathroom.

QUIET

This was when I began to feel whoever was leaving these notes was going too far. The sounds of me making dinner couldn’t possibly have been loud enough to bother anybody. Were they just messing with me? Trying to get back at me over some imagined transgression? I threw the note away. Still, I kept my headphones in and tried to avoid making too much noise.

In the next few days I kept receiving the notes and it was driving me crazy. I felt as though I was doing everything in my power to be as quiet as possible. Having to tip-toe around my own apartment was ridiculous, really. I planned to find out who was dropping the notes through my door and confront them, telling them that whatever I had done to anger them, I wasn’t going to play these games anymore.

I knocked on Annika’s door, perhaps too aggressively. I heard nothing inside the apartment for a while, and wondered if she was even home, when the door slowly swung open. Annika stood there, saying nothing. Her unblinking stare made me uneasy.

“Look, I don’t know what’s going on here, but somebody’s been dropping these notes—”

I faltered as Annika’s hand shot up. For a moment I thought she was going to grab me, but instead she brought a finger to her lips. Like she was telling me to be… quiet.

“I’m sorry,” I said, lowering my voice. “But this is getting insane. I’ve tried my best to be accommodating, but—”

Annika’s eyes flickered over my shoulder. Instinctively I turned around and had to stop myself from screaming.

Maria, Jess, and Alex were all standing there, only a few steps away, staring, finger in front of their mouth. I hadn’t heard doors opening, the sound of footsteps, it was as if they’d just appeared. When I listened, I couldn’t even hear them breathe.

I don’t know how long we all stood there. My legs felt paralyzed, and even the sound of my own heartbeat, hammering in my chest, felt too loud in the otherwise silent hallway. They didn’t move either, just stood there. Telling me to be quiet.

The silence was shattered by my phone buzzing.

Instantly I could feel a cold hand reaching for my neck as the three in front of me jerked forward. I moved so fast I could hardly process it until the door to my apartment had already slammed shut behind me. Quickly I turned my phone off.

It was quiet again, no sounds in the hallway. But when I peeked through the peephole, I could see them standing there like statues outside my door. Waiting for me to make a noise.

That was ten minutes ago. I’ve been trying to be silent, and I hope the sound of me typing this isn’t too loud for them, because I just remembered I forgot to close the window behind me.