Covid Apartment Life 1
During the past 6 months or so of social isolation due to Covid-19, most of the people I once knew by name in my apartment building have moved out. They have been replaced by…well, I don’t who replaced them because I never see them. I leave my apartment only to take my daily walk or to go grocery shopping once or twice a week.
The woman I share an apartment wall with is young and very loud. During warmer months when we both had our windows and doors open, I would sit out on my fourth floor balcony and I could not help overhearing the continual phone conversations taking place in her living room. She doesn’t have a balcony, but she has a very loud voice and she swears a lot when she talks with friends.
I think I caught a glimpse of her a week or two ago as I was getting off the elevator and she was getting on. I was talking on the phone at that moment, so I made no eye contact and I noticed only that, yes, she is young and she has dark hair that has been colored or bleached to be platinum blond. I take this as a caution sign because I theorize it is a sign of emotional instability to make drastic changes to your appearance. When I put that fact together with the loudness and swearing, my impression is reinforced.
The walls are not so thick, so I hear her at night. She occasionally makes a peculiar guttural sound that isn’t really snoring, or at least it isn’t like any snoring I’ve heard before. It’s more like a sigh with more vocal influence than sighs usually have. I assume this occurs while she’s asleep because it’s often 4 AM and there are never any sounds of movement occurring at the same time. It is a peculiar sensation, and a little bit intimate, to hear her produce sounds that she is unaware she is making.
Though I don’t know her, or even her name, and even though I am not interested in learning more about her, I care for her. The judgement I would normally have about a loud, crude young woman is not there. I find myself hoping she will grow up and do something with her life. I have no idea if she supports Trump or Biden, or if she is a vegetarian. But I hear her sighs, and I just want her to get off the track she appears to be on currently and get on one that could lead to a more conscious life.
