Annoying Neighbor
237 Words
I used to live in a small building in the center of the city. One of the reasons I moved was the horrible neighborhood, including the type of apartment that was on top of mine. He was a strange man who generally did not let himself be seen. About midnight, I started that annoying sound that used to get on my nerves.
I was not very tall, to be fair, but I have always had a very light sleep, so it was very difficult for me to keep my eyes closed with those little sounds of punches from time to time. It reminded me of someone who walked with heels, but not very high, as if the person who emitted the sound wanted to go unnoticed.
After a few days, I realized that the pattern was the same, as if it were a type of recording that played at random intervals between them. And so it was repeated most of the year, always the same sequence of blows, recorded slowly in my mind, sometimes even hours during the night.
Only many years later, when I was helping my daughter with her homework, I learned some morse code. He rapped his knuckles on the table and a chill ran down my spine immediately when I recognized the exact pattern. When I asked what it meant, she laughed.
"That's the easiest thing, dad," he said. "It's the help call."
- Writer
