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.
