A wall separates my bedroom from my neighbor’s bed room. A
thin wall. Thin enough to carry conversation through it. This fact was revealed
to me one day; at 2 in the morning.
Like some of you, the early hours of the morning has me sleeping
like a log. I would be laying on my back, straight, unlike the rest of my
family who would be a tangled mass of legs, arms and hair. Sometimes I get up
startled because getting elbowed in your ribs even during the deepest sleep,
puts your body into a defense mode. I suddenly sit up, stare into the darkness, collect my
whereabouts and feel the pain in my ribs. Slowly, my eyes will get accustomed
to the form lying on the bed next to me and the left elbow that gave me the
rude wake up call. Muzzling the anger that wells up, I try to get back to
sleep. I won’t get that deep sleep again, I know. However….
That is when, I think it happened. The mild “thud” right
behind me, on the wall. And another one. And many more. In a sequence and rhythmically. It
took only a few seconds for me to associate the thuds with the faint human
sounds that accompanied it in the back ground. I was listening to my neighbors,
right in the middle of their early morning carnal congress. At 2 am in the
morning? Yes. I did look at the clock, shortly afterwards.
I was amused because I had never listened to somebody else’s
session, live. I was quite because I thought they would hear me breathing. I
was jealous because of obvious reasons. The passion was raw and genuine. The
night seemed to be watching both parties at both sides of the wall. Then the thuds progressed to a crescendo....
The perverted angel sitting on my left shoulder looked at me
and winked. I tried to look away. But it was not going to give up so easily. It
glanced meaningfully at the empty water glass on the bed side table. With
trembling hands I took the water glass and placed it against the wall. Then I
pressed my right ear against its mouth. (Yeah..Pervert)
I listened to them until my ears pained from being pressed
against the glass’s edge. I sat back, impressed. It still went for another 30
minutes or so. Is it possible? I wondered, considering various possibilities.
May be they are playing the recorded tape again; just to fool the fool on the other
side of the wall! Or maybe my neighbor is the legendary stud who goes the
distance; sundown to sun rise. Or may be a ludicrous lady was listening to her
ipod and tapping the wall.
That was one day among many other days. I was the silent
audience on the other side of the wall many a time at 2 in the morning. Until
the day when my partner got up in the middle of the night and saw me with a water
glass stuck in my ear.
It has been months. The water glass has been permanently replaced
by a pet bottle. I got new neighbors. An old couple. Deep inside I know; some where in this city, some body has a glass stuck to his ears at 2 in the morning.
