Like so many wednesdays, spent
the evening with a glass to my ear, listening to my neighbor.
Even though he's alone around this time, there's always something
to hear.
This time there was nothing though. Nothing at all. How odd. Quite
unusual. He had to be home, since his light was clearly visible
from the street.
For a long time it remained silent. My attention was starting to
fade when I suddenly heard a loud grinding. Really loud, like he
was pushing a huge rock through the room. I quickly dismissed this
theory and listened on, with heightened concentration.
The sound weakened and appeared to be moving upward. Then it became
quiet again. For a really long time. I decided to try my luck at
the top of the wall. While I gently moved my glass upward, I noticed
the same grinding noise on the other side of the wall. Quickly I
froze, after which it became silent again.
The silence remained for a long, long time. My legs were getting
stiff and an annoying itch on my toes kept distracting me. This
time, however, I stayed silent. After what seemed like a quarter
of an hour I heard something again. They were the familiar noises:
the cracking of his joints, the floorboards, the click of the light
switch and the squeaking of the door. A little disappointed, I decided
to go to bed.
Everything was back to normal.
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