neighbors

A HOUSE IS NOT A MOTEL. Or so I thought. I was living in a contemporary home in the middle of town, the kind that had been put together in the 1970s, with three levels and lofts and staircases going every which way. There were so many doors and so many rooms that I didn’t notice two familiar town women move in with their children and extended entourage. Pernilla and Drusilla, their offspring, husbands, boyfriends, cousins and kin. I could only hear their voices though, or the shouts of their infants. It was unnerving to know I had new neighbors in my own home, but could not see them, but I could hear them almost everywhere.

I took care after that, making sure not to leave my razor by the sink, and to always put the toilet lid down just in case. The oat milk was always put away soon after it was taken out and I left my shoes neatly by the door. I didn’t want to overstep their boundaries or to offend them.

One night after that I went out to the Ait, where there was a party going. There were little groups of people standing in circles and drinking wine. Esmeralda was there too, with her dark hair. She was as quiet as the night with clever eyes, and her fingers were prettied with silver rings. She seemed to be the very pillar or obelisk of the world. When I saw Esmeralda there, I felt a powerful vibration. It was frightening how powerful it was. Just this small girl and she didn’t even have to say a word. The sky turned blackpurple and there was a howling wind. I just couldn’t bring myself to speak to her and so I left and began walking along the riverbank.

So many people were out for a stroll that night and who should happen to pass by on his bike but Jack Diablo, an old school chum, who had recently written a book about sports betting, blessed by the old bookie Louis “Lucky Lou” Herzog himself. Diablo was a round, happy-looking character, of Galician extraction. He got off his bike and spread out a blanket on the ground that was printed to look like a giant chessboard. Jack looked up at me as he arrayed the pieces across the board. These pieces were made of a soft material, like pineapple, and they would not stand upright. “It’s okay,” said Jack Diablo. “We’ll just have to try some other time.”