Neighbouring sounds

This piece is inspired by “Neighbouring sounds [O soma o redor]” a film directed by Kleber Mendonça Filho  Steve Rose (The Guardian) said: “You could call this a Brazilian ‘Short Cuts’ in that it juggles a multitude of connected characters (…) There are ominous soundtrack noises, depictions of the tenants’ nightmares, imitations of the not-too-distant colonial past.” I would call this a Life Short Cuts… my life… your life… but remember: all characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. 

The slamming door. The noise made in the corridor and time tells me who is coming back home or leaving. I don’t have to meet my neighbours to know their habits. I don’t have to even know them to know who they are. 

In the middle of the night I hear the heavy steps and deep bass voice. I feel the walls shake. He works here and there, making shady deals. He is a single guy who likes sex and having fun. He longs for a long-term relationship with a nice girl with whom he could discuss his interest in history and who would love his cat – the hurting memory of his ex…

 A couple of minutes later the door is opened quietly and not so widely as before. The fidgety sound of the keychain tells me that she has again had to park her car in the darkest corner of our communal car park which gave her goose bumps. Probably it wasn’t also the easiest night in the hospital. The night shifts there are the real nightmares just because everyone is scared while they are waiting for a dawn. 

A dawn brings the noiseless steps… the heartbeat seems to be as loud as drums. He tries to be invisible, untouchable and voiceless, to not destroy his wife and children’s calmness.  He walks like a thief, hiding himself, stealing his own feelings, desires and emotions.

An hour later I can hear shuffling and scratching. The cats from the top floor are waiting for their owner. He is coming down slowly, carrying his briefcase and sport bag with his gear. He goes to the gym twice a week, every week. He is well organized, so is his wife. They go out and come back at the same time always, with twenty minutes difference between his and her routine. He always sets off earlier and is always back earlier. He also cums earlier than she does.

A lovely child’s voice is heard, twenty to nine. He is three year old and cries rarely. Sometimes he calls the cats. He knows all the names of my neighbours’ cats. Probably he knows all the cats from our neighbourhood near and far. They always run away but it doesn’t get him down. 

Probably I know most of the people from my neighbourhood near and far. They always run away and it gets me down. The slamming door is the sound of the loneliness… despite the sounds crowded around me…