I had been living in a crappy overcrowded apartment for the past 8 years because it was my first time living without my parents and money wasn’t exactly abondent when I was a student. After working the chain of a cleaning service company as an administrator then as a manager, and saving a considerable amount I jumped on the opportunity when I saw a spacious apartment in a condo right outside the city had become available.
The price looked a bit too good to be true so I called the real estate agent listed and booked a visit. There most likely would be a trick because apartments this size go for at least a quarter more than listed. My best guess was that there was so much work to be done I’d end up spending more than I would for the normal price. Or maybe a cockroach infestation. Who knows?
My roommate Vanessa seemed exstatic when I told her I might move. I know she was proud of me since we knew each other when we were broke college students, but she was also excited about the prospect of living alone and bringing who she wants at any time. She’s a clean and nice roommate but she never liked change and didn’t seem like she was going to move out any time soon.
I got myself ready that morning trying to not be too excited because if something in life seems too good it might as well be. The drive was pretty quiet and I had avoided traffic which was one of the reasons for my chipper mood. Things did seem to be going my way this morning.
The real estate agent seemed like a nice lady who wouldn’t lie to her clients, « but don’t they all » I thought. She was a short lady with a plump frame and a reassuring smile, although her eyes showed tiredness and a longing for this day to be over.
We started the visit with the lower level where the yard and pool were located. The yard was neatly kept in the front of the building where passer-bys could see it but it seemed a bit outgrown and abandonned in the back. The pool was an interior one and was unoccupied but to be fair it was mid-september in the middle of the day so people would most likely be busy.
The pool was quite frankly creepy. It wasn’t dirty in the slightest and had obviously been given a scrub recently, but the air was just so heavy and humid. The entire room - ceilling included - was covered in white tiles and so was the pool. There was nothing wrong with it per say but it just looked so uncanny. There were no windows and the room got its only light from heavy fluorescent lights that looked like they belonged in a warehouse. The ventilation system seemed old and rusted.
Standing next to the pool I didn’t feel like I was looking at a relaxing and fun part of the building, it felt like I was looking at an old zoo’s habitat for an aquatic creature.
I was a bit disappointed by the looks of the « spacious and refreshing pool » I had read about in the ad, but kept a smile on my face. I’m not one to not enjoy themselves because the pool doesn’t look fun enough, how ridiculous does that sound frankly?
We took the elevator to the seventh floor and the doors opened on a very long narrow hallway. We walked to its end and the agent opened apartment 709. I had been holding my breath the entire time worried it wouldn’t live up to my expectation but the apartment took my breath away. It was everything I was hoping for and more, spacious, and luminous. The walls, floors and ceilings were clean and free of damage, the windows were in perfect condition, and the view was on the nice front yard so that was a nice addition.
Fast forward to last week, I took it, and moved in. The apartment was semi-furnished which was nice to not live in a completely empty appartment. For now I just got myself sheets,blankets, pillows, and takeout. Don’t need much more to survive the first night in my opinion. I fell asleep with a full stomach and content mind to have made the most grownup purchase of my life.
I heard a noise.
It started at around midnight. Foot steps, soft and discreet. I put my head back on the pillow and I fell asleep right away.
I heard another noise at around 1. Footsteps again but running, fast and clumsy, like someone kept body slamming themselves against the walls. I was surprised anyone would act this loud and rude at night but rationalized that since there had been no moving truck yet, most of the neighbors might not know of my presence, and maybe other appartements on the seventh floor weren’t entirely full. I closed my eyes again, and fell asleep a bit annoyed.
I heard one last noise at around 3. Metal scraping. It sounded like it was far away enough around the elevator. There were long strident sounds like someone was slowly running their keys against the elevator doors. It was very irritating but stopped after about a minute. I fell asleep again and didn’t wake up until morning, very cranky.
I was very curious as to who acted this obnoxious in the middle of the night. I decided to find a neighbor so they would learn of my presence and hopefully spread the word that acting like the hallways were a gym at night wasn’t the best idea.
I found myself in front of door 708 and knocked. No one answered. Walked to 707. Empty. 706. Repeat.
When I got to 701 I didn’t expect much but was pleasantly surprised to hear the door hinges creak. An old man who seemed to be just as cranky as I had been this morning opened the door. He was quite lanky with a head that was bald at the crown but had stringy unruly white hair to his shoulders. He was of average height but looked a bit shorter due to his slight hunch.
“What.” Charming.
“Hi I just moved in 709, I don’t want to be a bother but have you noticed the loud noises at night? You’re right next to the elevator so you probably heard it even more. Do you know what that’s about?” There, simple, concise and not accusing.
“I don’t know anything.” And he shut the door.
What a good start that was. Technically it can’t get much worse than that.I headed back to my apartment and made arrangements with my workplace and who would replace me while I moved. The neighbors were really quiet during the day and I would see a few of them pass in the yard from my window. The vast majority of people were elderly, a handful of middle aged couples, and one little girl that I spotted running around with a soccer ball.
I spent a bit of time shopping for appliances and filled the old fridge to not have to order takeout every other night. By the time I got home it must’ve been around 7pm and people were already inside their homes. I headed towards the elevator when I heard running.
The brown-haired little girl I had seen around was joyfully skipping with what seemed to be an old pink my little pony figurine. She had bouncy curls, tan skin and a crooked smile that was missing its two top teeth. Her face beamed when she noticed me and she showed how little she knew about being shy when she tried having a conversation right away.
“You’re that lady from above right?”
“Yeah it’s nice meeting you.”
“You’re gonna stay here now?”
I barely had time to answer yes that she had already bombarded me with questions about my age, my clothing choices, if I had an interest in soccer and what my taste was regarding pink ponies. I had been a bit disappointed so far from the noise and the rude neighbor so seeing this little girl so full of energy and childlike kindness was uplifting.
The elevator stopped at the 6th floor and she skipped towards the end of the hallway shouting back:
“Goodnight watch out!”
What an odd thing to say. But hey kids, they’re something else.
The elevator went up and I headed towards my apartment for the night. I had hoped the old man had told someone about my presence and that the night would be silent but he didn’t seem like the type to socialize and gossip with neighbors. If he didn’t say anything the little girl definitely would tell her parents. She seemed like the type who could talk a dead man awake.
Tiredness quickly washed over me, I headed to bed after chewing down ramen and taking a shower, and fell asleep like a log.
Then the noise came around midnight, like clockwork.
The footsteps were so light I wasn’t sure why they woke me up, so I went back to sleep without much fuss.
Then it came again at 1. Very loud like someone was trying to break through the wall with their entire body. I shoved my blankets off my body very angry and ready to yell at whoever was this inconsiderate. It wouldn’t look good as a new neighbor, but I didn’t care in that moment. As I was about to put my hand on the front door handle and be face to face with the person responsible for the noise, I felt a crinkle under my foot. I had stepped on a piece pf paper that I knew for sure I didn’t leave there, so someone had to have pushed it under the door.
By the time I had bent over to pick up the paper the noise had stopped completely, and I felt too nervous to open it now that the surprise had washed some of the anger away.I went back to my room, turned on the lights and sat on my bed to see what the paper could be about.
“Hi neighbor!
We are so very pleased to finally have a new addition to our community.
We were very sad to see the prior owner leave us so soon. Herbert informed us of your presence and we’re glad we were able to send you the rules before anything happened.
We had no idea that you had moved in, that’s our bad, but we’re glad we’ll get to put this behind us and explain exactly what’s going on.
As you noticed, the hallways can be quite loud at night, and you’ll be safe! As long as you take our community guidelines seriously.
1 DO NOT OPEN THE DOOR FOR ANYONE AND ANY REASON FROM MIDNIGHT TO 4AM
Hope we can all get along!”
What.The.Fuck. You guys are all caught up with what’s been happening. I’m sitting on my bed, it is almost 3 and I think my neighbors are pulling a massive cruel prank on me.