Wednesday 29 September 2010

There are two sides to this story...

It was almost three am in the morning when I was awoken by the voices and the loud music coming in through the top shutters of the window. Their voices were raised as they chatted loudly in the back garden. I listened silently holding my peace as it all made sense because she was upset. What had happened to her two days earlier was enough to make anyone go crazy.
The detectives had knocked around 7am in the morning and I had let them in through the main entrance. They told me to return to my flat as they banged incessantly on her door. When she eventually opened the door they stormed in and within minutes I saw them leading her to their car and before long she was arrested and locked up for the night. She returned a day later fuming and angry. I heard screaming and shouting during the day and then at night I was hit by this thunderstorm of loud deafening music that now kept me wide awake and staring quietly at the shadows in my room.
Well that is one side of the story, now for the other. A few years back I took an oath that I would stay isolated and away from anything and anyone as I delved deep into a spiritual habitat to research and write my first novel. One day about eight in the evening I heard a knock on my door. It was my neighbor from below. She said she needed to use my phone and I obliged, inviting her into my apartment. I offered her my cell phone and she made a call, thanked me and was gone.
As these things go as part of my isolation I had worked into my program a schedule of running at least twice a week. Don’t ask me why, it was part of the discipline, keeping my mind clear and focused for the task at hand. Two days after my neighbor had knocked on my door I left the apartment around 10am, which was the routine and was gone for almost an hour. When I returned I noticed that my door had been broken into. There were splinters everywhere even though it had still been carefully shut to hide signs of a break in. I walked into the apartment puzzled. How was this possible? The house itself had only two floors, I lived in the apartment above hers and we shared the main entrance. I decided to knock on her door to see if she had heard anything. I knocked a few times and got no response. I checked the main entrance and the lock was as secure as ever. I got back into my apartment and after a quick glance believed I had imagined the whole thing, since everything seemed to be in place as I had left it. It didn’t take me long to change this line of thought when I noticed that my cell was gone and a few notes from my wallet. As I was about to ask the Lord what I had done to deserve this I noticed her debit card on the carpet in the living room. I knew it hadn’t been there when I woke up or left the house that morning so she had to have broken in.
She was a neighbor and so I decided to give her the benefit of the doubt thinking that she may have been out as there had been no response from her door. Suddenly I heard the main entrance door shut and I peered through the window to see her walking away from the building. She had been in all the time but had not answered when I knocked. I decided to wait. Perhaps she had needed the money and the phone in desperation. I would ask and give her a way out. I decided not to make any accusations but try to lead her to the truth.
When I saw her return I approached her and told her I had been burgled. I told her I had hidden a camera in my apartment that could see who had been there. I also said the person who had broken in won’t know this but I knew who they were. She shook her head giving nothing away. I asked her if she had lost anything and she said no. I had no choice this time and called the cops. To cut a long story short she was arrested and two days later she was returning the favor by blasting my eardrums into space.
In the silence of my room and darkness I knew that I wasn’t too bothered about the phone or the money I had lost. I knew those things would be replaced eventually and besides I had made my point by getting her arrested. What really got me going was the fact that nothing in life stays hidden before God. I had isolated myself to delve deeper into his world and produce a book dedicated to his teachings and someone had invaded this world. It looked like he was watching over me and letting me know that I wasn’t alone on this journey.

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