An Attic filled with Birds [Completed]

6. He's here anyway

Damien
I stand still before the door in front of me. Should I knock? Of course I need to knock if I want to come in. But do I want to come in?

Yesterday, Nora told me pretty clear she doesn't want me to go to her today. And yet, here I am. I did sleep this afternoon. I figured waking up two hours before the usual time would be acceptable enough. I'm sure she doesn't mind me coming at his time either. On top of that, she can't send me away now that I'm already here.

I knock on the door. The rest of the hall is empty apart from the other doors, and there's no sounds coming from the other apartments. The somber interior of the hall isn't inviting. I know what the other side of the door looks like, though. It's much better.

Finally, I hear footsteps coming towards the door. They're slow, but definitely heading in my direction. The door opens, and Nora's mother greets me.

'Damien,' she says. 'What a surprise. I haven't seen you in a while. Come in.'

She moves backwards, and I step into their apartment's hallway as she fixes her gray hair. It's narrow, and the two of us would not be able to stand next to each other.

'Damien?'

I look to the end of the hallway and see Nora.

'Hey,' I say.

'What are you doing here?'

'Not even a 'nice to see you'?' her mother says to her.

'Of course it's nice to see him,' she says to her. She then focuses back on me. 'I thought I told you not to come?'

'You did,' I admit. 'But this is one of those rare moments the both of us don't have to work. I thought it'd be nice to spend some time together. It's been a while.'

'That's a great idea. You're always welcome here.'

'Mom, he's losing sleep because of this.'

'Sleep is for the weak. Now, get out of my way. I was busy reading.'

Nora listens, and disappears from the hallway. I follow her mother to the living room. There, Nora is waiting for me. As soon as her mother is out of hearing distance, she turns to me.

'What were you thinking?'

'I thought I was doing a nice thing.'

'It is a nice thing, but you should think of yourself before anything else.'

'I am looking out for myself,' I tell her. 'I recognize the need to be having social interactions with others. So here we are.'

She sighs.

'You're not happy to see me?'

'Of course I am.'

'Then what is it? Am I interrupting something?'

'No.'

I look at her with a confused look.

'It doesn't matter,' she says. 'You're here now anyway.'

'And you sound so enthusiastic about it.'

She chuckles.

'I know, right?' she says. 'Truly, though. I like having you around.'

'Good. I like being around.'

'Great. Are you joining us for dinner?'

'Sure. If your mother is okay with it?'

'She'll just have to accept it. But I'll ask anyway. Sit down, I'll get you some water as well.'

'Thank you.'

As Nora walks away to the adjacent kitchen, I sit down on the couch. I look outside the window, and see another apartment building. A crane stands in front of it, and brings building materials upwards. I stand back up, and get closer to the window.

There's construction going on on the roof of the building.

'They're adding floors,' Nora says.

I turn around and see her put down two glasses of water on the table.

'How long has it been going on?'

'A week or so. They start rather early in the morning,' she sighs.

'Poor you,' I chuckle. 'Do you know how long it will take them to finish?'

'No. But they've been working on that one floor for a week. I think there'll be more.'

'Probably. It's going to get even more crowded here once the people move in.'

'I know. The neighborhood is so full already.'

'Wouldn't it be nice to move? I hear they have beautiful terrace houses in the districts up north.'

'If you can pay for those, be my guest.'

'About that...'

We both laugh, and sit down on the couch.

'I don't think anyone in this district will be moving soon. At least not to better places,' Nora says.

'It's a shame, really.'

'It's life. I'd need at least triple my current salary to come even remotely close to a terraced house up north.'

'Never stop dreaming, right?'

'Right,' she chuckles.

'And those?' I ask.

I walk away from the window a little and approach cabinet hanging from on the wall. I point to the stones visible through the glass doors.

'If those aren't of any emotional value, you could sell them. Perhaps you could live like royalty for a month.'

'If only those were real,' she says.

She walks over to stand next to me. We look at the various colored and shaped stones.

'They're glass,' Nora says. 'Plus, they do have some emotional value. Mom bought these from her very first paycheck.'

'Oh. Well, they're nice here too. They bringsome color in the room.'