The Loud Neighbor

The loud neighbor was bald, tall with a big strong body, topped up by a brown square face. He smoked a lot. Every day, he would take his ashtray, go behind the emergency exit door that leads downstairs where nobody could see him and the ventilation is great - to his calculation - to smoke. During his short daily trips, he didn't seem to think putting formal clothing is necessary, so he would have only a thin curled up undergarment on, shirtless, ashtray one hand and a pack of cigarettes on the other. I accidentally ran into him several times while he was on his leisure journey looking like a striper who was not that hot, didn't know how to react. Then one day, the neighbor upstairs started to complain about the smoke coming up from somewhere downstairs and how much he did not appreciate that. I tipped the neighbor upstairs off about the smoke source, the neighbor upstairs did his detective work and confirmed. Then the two men, talked. Problem solved. No more smoke. The poor loud neighbor then had to smoke from his balcony, from which of course smoke would cover his own place. Since he'd love to have his door opened almost all the time, I would catch a glimpse of his figure half-naked standing on the balcony with cigarette on his fingers, eyes far away day dreaming. I was not sure how much his young daughter and wife appreciate that, and wondered when would the neighbor up direct from his balcony start to complain.

The loud neighbor was, like how I call him, very loud. I would hear him talk from my own place across the corridor, his TV is on - and loud - every time he's home. Whenever he had guests over for a drink, the door would also - of course - open and I together with my fellow residents would share the joy of their feasts, unwillingly. Even when he did his private daily personal hygiene activities in his bathroom, I could also hear and imagine which part he was taking, which is not that pleasant I had to admit. 

His wife, the nice lady who was such a caring person that always tells me to have another child every time we ran into each other, was quite friendly, and not as loud. We would make great neighbor friendships if it's not because of how loud they are as a family. 

Suddenly, for a while, my corridor became so quiet, the door was no longer opened. I was wondering if the loud neighbor was still there. Then one day, I saw new people moving in. I didn't wish for my loud neighbor to move away, but somehow, the almighty knows.

T.