no longer silent.

Chapter 1

I could hear the silent crunch of cars driving slowly past our little side street. I could hear the sirens going off somewhere in the distance, occasionally growing louder as crimes and accidents occurred closer to my apartment. I could hear music, probably from the bar down the road, and I could hear people talking in the park across the street. I could peel the city, layer by layer, until I heard only the smallest of sounds. My breath; slightly uneven, the shuffling of soft fabric as I shifted in my bed, my curtains dancing slowly in the wind. But out of all the sounds I could hear, there was one that stood out. There were tiny sobs coming from the other side of my wall, telling the story of someone living next door who was as wide awake as me.

* * *

She had moved in last week, but she only seemed to be settling in now. The only reason I noticed she had taken over my neighboring apartment was because she was struggling to open her door while holding two large, beige boxes that were stacked on top of each other, and I just happened to peek my head out the door. I remember her desperately fumbling to reach the handle, but failing to get a grasp.

"Need any help with that?" She was obviously startled by the sudden noise, as she jerked backwards. The top box came stumbling down, almost hitting the girl in her face. She coruched down, with parts of her auburn fringe clung to her damp forehead as she was stressing, attempting to push a pair of red, lace panties back into the box. It had opened as it hit the hard floor in the dimly lit corridor, and her cheeks were flushed pink.

"Fuck, I'm so sorry!" I tried to apologize, but she shrugged me off.

"No, it's fine, really, I just need to get this inside." She hoarsely chuckled. "On the bright side, I can now open my door!" I wasn't sure if I was supposed to laugh or not. I didn't want her to feel bad about herself, so I just smiled and said quietly: "I'll just leave now. Nice to meet you!" There was awkward shuffling. "Yeah, nice meeting you as well. Goodnight." there was even more awkward shuffling. Then I shut my door.

* * *

I was now lying in bed at 3 am, wondering; "Why is this girl crying?" I felt kind of horrible, not even knowing her name. I had just rudely left, too embarrassed by the previous incident to start a longer conversation. Her cries were so so gentle, yet so heartbreaking, and it felt like something was tightening around my chest. I considered to just ignore it for a second, to put on some music and try to fall asleep. But I just couldn't, my heart aching a little more with every snivel. I sat up in my bed and leaned closer to the wall.

"Hey, are you okay?" The sobs stopped, and it was quiet for a second, before she responded with a slightly husky voice.

"No, but I will be."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah." Silence. "Sorry for waking you."