From A-Z, and Everything in Between

Healing

  Every night, there was a voice that would sing. The voice was quite loud, so Soraru could hear it despite living in a separate apartment. Though, that didn't really say much. The walls between apartments were too thin to keep anything out really. Usually Soraru would be annoyed by something like this, but he actually liked the voice. It sounded very pretty and sweet. So, he sat in his room every night, listening to whatever new song the voice would be singing. It became somewhat of a routine.

The songs were usually different each time, and the lyrics were always interesting to hear. One time, the person was singing about wanting to become a cat, and Soraru couldn't help but laugh as he listened. It wasn't a mocking kind of laugh, just an amused one. He had never even met this person, but he already liked them. They seemed strange in a sort of endearing way. One night, though, the song's lyrics became very dark. Even the voice, which usually sounded so cheerful and full of life, sounded hollow and sad. Soraru frowned to himself as he listened to it. Was this person having a bad day?

Over the course of the next month or two, the songs and voice got progressively more sad. Soraru continued listening even still, and his concern grew by the day. What happened to that happy voice he had grown so used to hearing? Where were the silly, cheerful songs that made him smile and laugh even when he was in a bad mood? Soraru wasn't sure what had caused such a drastic change in the person's songs, and he wasn't sure if he should go next door to ask. After all, they had never spoken before, so it would be weird for him to show up out of the blue like that. Soraru was at a loss for what to do, until one day he got an idea.

The idea came to him when he was walking past the glass door leading out onto the balcony. He could hear a soft voice coming through it, and he stopped in his tracks. Maybe the person was standing out on their balcony right now. Thinking this could be true, Soraru opened the glass door and stepped outside. It was a little chilly out since the sun had just gone down, but Soraru didn't mind it. He could honestly care less about the cold right now. Soraru walked over to the edge of the balcony and leaned against the railing. It was impossible to see the person next door because there was a wall in between them, but Soraru could still hear them. They were definitely out here.

"You have a really nice voice, you know," Soraru started, not sure how exactly to make conversation with them.

The singing stopped, and everything was silent for a long time. Soraru was worried that maybe he shouldn't have said anything after all, when suddenly the voice spoke.

"Th-Thank you..." they stuttered quietly.

"I'm Soraru, by the way. What's your name?" Soraru decided to ask.

There was a moment of hesitation. "...MafuMafu."

MafuMafu. Now he had a name to place to that voice. If only he had a face to put with it too.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, MafuMafu," Soraru said with a small smile that his neighbor couldn't see. He paused for a second, waiting to see if he'd get a response, before he continued. "Not to sound weird or anything, but I can hear you singing every night. The walls in this apartment complex really suck when it comes to blocking out noise."

"I-I'm sorry. If it's bothering you, I'll stop," MafuMafu apologized. He sounded so timid and meek.

"No, it's fine! It doesn't bother me at all!" Soraru responded quickly. "Actually... I really like hearing you sing. It's nice."

There was no response to this. Soraru was hesitant to go on, but he had to. If he didn't ask now, he wasn't sure he'd ever get another opportunity to.