Don't Blink!

Loud and Clear

In my first year of college, I heard something I shouldn't have.

I rented an old and cramped room where the walls were too thin. Well, it's the nearest available apartment to my school so I had to close the deal. The neighbors weren't very friendly either, as if there's an unspoken rule to mind your own business. Or maybe because it was mostly populated by adults rather than students, which already gave me a fair warning to be careful.

There's one tenant who went around as he liked. A bald drunkard called Stinky Eddie, who always played with his pocket knife. One day, I was on my way to school when he called me to a halt and said, "Drink first," offering a cup filled with beer.

I jerked away saying, "I don't drink."

"Why not," he asked, twirling his knife on his fingers. I tried to refuse a second time but he didn't only reek of sweat and garbage, he smelled of danger.

I didn't have to wonder what would happen to me if I didn't obey. I could already imagine that small knife on my throat, so I took the cup and drank. Since that day, I've always tried to avoid him.

There's another tenant whom I kind of liked but only half of the time. A tall Chinese lady with square shoulders and narrow hips next door. She's a call center agent who worked from home and she would talk all night, every night, until four in the morning.

I never knew her name because she spoke Mandarin on her calls. Although I couldn't understand her, I always envied her voice. I wished my voice was like that when I was doing presentations at school. She was not shouting yet her voice was loud and clear. But it was the night before my first quarter exams that I was condemned to hear her voice even if I left the apartment.

I tried to sleep as much as I could but it was as though she was talking right beside my ears. I put my hands up on them but I heard another voice - gruff and addled like someone drunk. I knew right away that it was Stinky Eddie. Anxious, I sat up and listened.

Maybe finding out that she's still awake, he barged right through her door. I thanked my lucky stars it wasn't mine. Stinky Eddie asked her for money but she refused, "I call the police," she said. And that's all it took for him to turn savage.

I heard him punch her as she yelped and clattered to the floor. Then he punched her again with each resounding smack. She pleaded, "Don't kill me," and even negotiated, "Get money on my bag." But Stinky Eddie was furious he was rejected the first time.

Countless thoughts were speeding in my mind but I felt paralyzed. Someone would help her, I thought, Someone should be hearing those noises too. Someone should be calling the police. THE POLICE! I grabbed my phone and dialed 9-1- but fear reigned. My hands trembled and my tongue sucked dry. What could prevent any noise I make for Stinky Eddie to hear? A single beep might summon him to barge in my door too. So I waited and hoped someone - someone would call instead of me!

No one did anything until the noises finally stopped. I could taste the blood from biting the insides of my cheeks. I always wondered how loud her voice could scream. And it was loud, as though she screamed directly at me. That earsplitting scream, followed by a gurgling and coughing noise, and the culprit scampering away were the last sounds I heard...before all was silent.

Even so, I didn't sleep then. Who could?

The authorities came in the morning. As they were carrying the body, I caught a glimpse of her throat slit open. I almost released a small laugh from all the terror and guilt inside me. I was scared they would ask me why I didn't help her. If ever, I would say I was asleep. But thank God, they didn't.

They caught Stinky Eddie soon after. However, it did nothing to my relief. Heck, I didn't even pass my tests that day. All that's been in my mind since then was hearing something I shouldn't have. And to this day, as I lay in bed at night, I still hear those noises loud and clear.