The Person on the Other Side of the Curtain

I wanted to do a change up from my regular "idea-action" sort of writing, so I started this one.

This was also mostly "completed" before I went to New Zealand, and was in fact, the story that went to my Editor with a few discussions looking back over it and thinking of changes that may make more sense or enhance the story. We even got as far as considering a full re-work of the story (that I may end up doing if I can re-motivate myself again) before the trip and then real life took hold.
After I came back and lost interest in writing, this one sort of fell by the way side. About a week ago, I picked it up again and hacked out a few things, added a small change here or there.
I lost impetus and, though this is one of the stories I wanted to write, I feel like I haven't done it justice.
A few small passages, and the ending in particular, feel quite weak. It doesn't really show what I want it to... but I have lost interest in writing this one and it sort of feels incomplete.

Partially inspired by the short story The Spider by Hans Heinz Ewers, as well as the English units we did in Year 11 and 12.
You probably won't believe me... but just try.
You do have to find inspiration from the real world for anything that is meant to look even remotely life like, but I can assure you that this is not related to real life events.
Stop staring at me like that.
 

---

Saturday, 8

This afternoon, something a little odd occurred. Odd probably isn't the correct word, but I am not sure what other word could cover it. Weird? Serendipitous doesn't really cover it either, and that would imply something a little unusual and abnormal about me. I've no real reason to actually explain why it made me smile or even think good about it, but it did.

I went to my table and noticed that my curtain was ajar. This in itself is a little odd, because I normally keep it quite shut. That's especially important if the weather we are expecting to come soon materialises: The curtains will keep the heat and extra light out. Keeps the electricity bills cheaper. Also keeps people from looking in. I guess the curtains must have come open while I was cleaning and tidying earlier.

Anyway, I figured that I was a little bored and that I would peer out of the window to see what was happening. I looked out across to the apartments next door, because that is basically all I can see from my window. The units looking back at me are all pretty similar, and I should know: I used to live over there. All tiny apartments, one room plus a separate bathroom/laundry complex. I moved over here when I could afford to because... well... space. Also, it's cheap enough, in a pretty good neighbourhood and is close enough to most things that matter to me so I would have been mad to not go for it when I could.

The apartments stare back at me with their grey brick exterior and off-white backed curtains shut tightly. All except the one basically directly across from me. This unit had a curtain that was kind of opened, enough that I could see a reasonable amount inside. I'm not sure why, but I actually had a sort of prolonged look over the place. Maybe some sense of nostalgia. The floor was the same dark brown carpet that I remembered in my unit. There was a small desk on one side of the room, with an office chair and what was probably a computer or laptop sitting on top of it (I couldn't see it all). I think I could also make out half of the bed close to the window and the wardrobe against the wall too. The layout was a bit different to my old apartment but, then again, everyone has their own room layout.

And then a person walked past. A man to be specific.

He was wearing long black or deep navy track pants and a lighter blue t-shirt on. I guess he was of average height and build, light brown hair.

I actually stopped for probably a minute or two to see what he was doing. He looked like he had just grabbed a bottle of drink (alcoholic beverage?) and sat down. I presume the TV was on. Occasionally, he looked like he was laughing and every so often he would take a sip out of the bottle. Eventually, I moved away and continued on with my life.

Like I said earlier, I am not really sure why it was particularly intriguing to me, but... it just... was.

Maybe it's the idea of finding someone you have never really seen before but in a place you used to know. It could have been that it was just something that happened that broke the monotony of my day without really involving me doing anything truly unique. Perhaps the sheer voyeurism of looking in to see what other people do (isn't that what made Reality TV so popular?) or maybe even just the fact that there are other people going about their lives without any real care in the world?

Who knows? It was significant enough that I have dedicated a page writing about it here.

***

Wednesday, 12

It happened again. This time, it was during dinner. Chicken Kiev, peas, carrots and corn. Delicious. The TV was on, the news providing some form of simultaneous information dissemination and background noise. I swallowed something the wrong way. Once I had calmed down, I poured myself a glass of water and sat back down. I noticed my curtains opened again. I must have knocked them apart in my choking/coughing fit. I had a quick look around and I noticed that once again his curtains were fairly open. For a moment, there was nothing. I was about to close my own curtains when he reappeared. He sat down at the base of the bed, a plate of food in hand and remote control at his side. He was wearing the same coloured pants as the other day, possibly even the same pants, but a different shirt. This one was green.
Every now and then, he would change the channel. For the most part, though, he would sit there and take a bite or two.

A loud ad break in the news broke me out of my trance. I closed the curtain and went back to eating. Funny thing though: My dinner had gone from hot to lukewarm. Must have been looking for a little while. Re-heated it, and it was ok. Would have been better hot. Most things don't microwave well.

***

Friday, 14

Finished work, came home and ate. Got showered and changed and heard the car beeping in the alley. That's the way we usually seem to communicate that we are here (i.e. at someone's place) and ready if that person is running late. It's amusing: we used to text each other all of the time that we were outside and waiting back in the days of pre-paid. Now that we are all on regular plans and it doesn't cost us anything to text, we don't do it. Strange how the world works, really.

Anyway, I got out on to the verandah just to check that it was my friends. I didn't think that I was running late at all. I looked down and saw that it wasn't actually the crew, it was a taxi.
I looked around to see if anyone was coming and saw his curtains slightly ajar. It was hard to make out, because the window wasn't opened that far, but I could definitely make out four different people, presumably, himself and friends (one male, two female). I couldn't tell at the time, but they seemed to look as if they were ready to go out too.
A longer beep from the taxi, and he opened his curtains. His shirt was a vibrant silky purple button up, not overpowering but definitely a classy shade. He was wearing long black pants, smooth and in stark contrast to the trackies he had been wearing the last few times I had seen him. A stylish set of shiny black shoes enveloped his feet and completed the look. He shouted down towards the taxi, a rather masculine voice telling the taxi driver that they were on their way.
The other people in the room downed their drinks and the curtains closed. The lights blinked out from underneath the curtains and they were gone.
I moved back inside and checked the time, realised that I had another half hour or so to kill, so I put some music on to pass the time.

Saturday, 15

The night out was good. Nothing special, just a nice night out. Minor hangover.

The mid-afternoon is my clean up time. I bumped the curtain, and it opened. I had a sneaking look through the window and saw that his curtain was open too. He was sitting down at the end of the bed again. He was wearing the same pants as he normally does, but this time no shirt. He had a reasonably toned chest and abdomen, with some definition on his pecs and subtle definition of his abs. I guess he worked out to some extent or was otherwise involved in some form of physical labour. He had limited amount of body hair, enough to know it was there but not enough as to call him a rug. Which I guess kind of suited him. This time, a mug was in his hand. Probably coffee.
I stared for about a minute before he twisted his head to the other side of the room. He got up and, I guess, he went to the door. I couldn't see that deep in to the room, but there was definitely some shadows dancing on the floor. There was more than one person in there now. I was sure of that. A few seconds later, I could see two pairs of feet. The sandles and feet they held of the newcomer looked kinda girly.

A minute later, and they were both sitting down at the end of the bed. She was of fair complexion and somewhat petite. She had light mousey brown hair that looked like it flowed not much past her shoulders. She was wearing light coloured jeans and a light red coloured tank top. The more I think about it, the more I think I recognise her from last night. Both had cups of whatever it was, coffee. They chat away for a while, every now and then one or both laughed. It was pretty obvious that they were an item. The way she smiled, you could have seen it a mile away. There was an interesting moment where she gave a sheepish grin and turned her head to her left. It was not long after that he sidled up next to her and lay his arm around her shoulders. She lay her head on his shoulder and placed her hand on his lap. He, in turn held hers.
For a time, they sat there. She stroked his hand. He softly kissed her temple. She smiled deeper, rolled in towards him. They embraced and started kissing.
I was mesmerised. This was kind of beautiful. They rose to their feet and started caressing tenderly. She was slightly shorter than he was, and her head and neck were slightly uptilted. He gently moved his hands up from her waist, up her back, past her neck and through her hair. She responded with a small kiss, possibly a nibble, on his neck. He inhaled deeply, clearly taken in, laughed and said something. She smiled back, looking deeply in to his eyes as his hands went to the bottom of her shirt. He dragged it up and -

- oh -

I should not be watching this.
Sheepishly, I shut the curtains and went back to doing anything else in the world.

***

Tuesday, 18

It was a hard day. I had been dumped upon greatly by my managers. The heat from the commute home had drained me of most of my remaining energy. I put something in the microwave. I was feeling too crappy to actually cook anything. The TV blared and did nothing to help alleviate the situation. I opened the curtain.

The last of the sun was coming down and some of the lights in the shadowed portions of the alley way were starting to flicker on. I saw that his curtain was open. She was there again. They were standing up, holding each other again. His shirt was still on, but hers was just coming off. The light blue singlet was dumped unceremoniously on the floor. His soon followed and they continued. I closed my curtain again out of a combination of minor embarrassment and major frustration with everything.

The food was now microwaved, so I sat down to eat it. The TV wasn't really working as a distraction again, the news being as awfully depressing as it normally is. The news reader's voice, instead of lulling me in to calm compliance, just irked me, so I switched it off.

A few moments of quiet solitude, a deep breath and a mouthful of microwaved food later, I thought I heard a squeek. I looked around the room. It's not unknown around these parts for mice to co-inhabit frequently. Another squeek... or was that a shout? I moved to the window and opened it a little to see if I could figure out what it was. Nothing. Probably a trick of the breeze.
As I was closing it, I heard it again. It was still a soft sound. Where was that coming from? There it was again. And again. I looked around. Nothing looked out of the ordinary. All curtains were closed. Then I saw movement in one of them. His. The movement was gentle and flowing and...
Oh.
Right.
Shirts being taken off.
Shouts.
Obvious.

I went to shut the door curtain. But then I stopped. Stopped and stared. And I watched the other curtain continue its short movements.
The rhythmic motion... it was... mesmerising.
The soft sound held me captive.
I was transfixed.
One motion after the other.
Eventually the sounds stopped, as did the curtains. I sat there for a while watching for movement, but there was none.

I eventually went back to my food, but it was cold.

Wednesday, 19

I got home from work, put my stuff away and started cooking. Once everything was in the oven/on the stove top, I sat down. Another long day, but a bit better than yesterday. The heat wave had well and truly hit now. I went to switch the TV on, but thought better off it. I peered through the curtains. His was not open.
I stayed there for a short while, until I could smell that my food was cooked.
The TV was not entertaining me so, after I ate and had a shower, I had a brief glance through the window again. His curtain was still drawn, though I could see light coming through the bottom. I think he was the only one there, as there was no real movement of the shadow.

Eventually, I went to bed.

Thursday, 20

Came home, dropped my stuff and looked through the curtain.
His was not open.

Cooked something.

Looked through the curtain. It was still not open.

Ate.

Looked through the curtain.

His curtain was open and the glass door slightly ajar. He was sitting there, sweating and largely naked with only underwear on. He also had a plate of food on his lap and a bottle of drink by his side. Why?
I sat down and I watched.
He ate slowly, but drunk quickly. It must be really hot there. He finished the bottle and got up.
I looked up and saw that all but one of the air conditioning units on the roof were working. The one that was not working appeared to be covered in black soot. I guess it was his and it had burnt out.

He came back with a large glass of water. We sat for some time.

He got up and went to the curtains. He looked around. His eyes wandered the place, and they went towards my window. I thought I noticed them slowing down.

I froze. Would he see me? Should I move? Close my own curtains?

A moment passed.

I'm not sure if he had actually seen me, he gave no indication that he did.

At any rate, he closed his curtains.

I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.

I showered, peeked out, saw his curtain was still closed, and went to bed.

Friday, 21

I managed to get off earlier than normal today.

I got home and checked the curtain. His was open, as was the door. He had shorts on and was sitting down, glass of water in hand.

I watched for a little while when I noticed movement in my upper peripheral vision. The repairers for the broken air conditioner. They were looking down at me.

They waved. I waved back and slunk back in to my room, closing the curtain.

An hour passed and I checked again. His curtain was now closed.

Got changed and ready to go out.

Heard the beeping of a taxi, a shout. His shout. I briefly pulled open the curtains to see his closing.

I ran down the stairs, but he was gone by the time I got there.

Saturday, 22

I checked in the morning to see if there was anything happening.
The curtain was not open.

I went about cleaning my place, checking after I vacuumed.
Still not open.

The day went on and I still occasionally checked.
Not open once

Night time.
No Change.

Sunday, 23

Nothing.

Monday, 24

Still nothing.

Tuesday, 25

Still nothing.

Wednesday, 26

Still nothing.

Thursday, 27

I suspect that he must have noticed me and is keeping the curtains closed. We'll see this weekend.

Friday, 28

This could be it. The final chance.

I checked when I got home. Still no open curtain. It's ok, it's the afternoon. He might not be home yet.

I went on with my usual routine. Cooked something. TV on. Ate.

I checked again.

Light on, shadows moving, but no curtain opened.

I sighed.