Daily Story 72: Haberdashery

The neighbors are driving me insane.

I bang on the walls, scream at them to keep it down, and then I have to listen to them wonder what I'm yelling about. They don't sleep, so I don't sleep. All night I hear them laughing, yelling, having sex. If I do somehow manage to fall asleep it invades my dreams, I find myself inside their apartment with them talking all around me. Dreams like that are worse than not sleeping at all.

The walls here are a foot thick, there could be a freight train going past outside and I wouldn't know. That was one of the reasons I chose this place; without silence I can't work. I've started going into the office again, after fighting for years to be allowed to permanently telecommute. I fall asleep on my desk half the time and I know my boss is going to catch me one of these days.

I tried to talk to the landlord and he just quoted the equal rights housing act to me. I don't need to be told about that, I was one of the people signing petitions and writing my senator to allow those people to have rights. I was one of the ones carrying a banner at the big protest, yelling that it's not their fault and they should be allowed to stay, to live here like anyone else.

But that was before I lived next to them.

This has to end. I want to go over there and grab a handful of those wriggling tentacles they call a face and just yank. Not that it would make me feel better - hell, I'd probably feel the pain as much as they did. Stupid telepaths. I can't move, my lease isn't up for another six months, but there must be something... the roll of tin foil in the kitchen catches my eye... it's just crazy enough to work.