Neigh-bores

All of us have some weird quirks. I have mine too. But I do have some weird people living a round me. Before I can make you feel that I am judgmental about people, I must point to the fact that I am very popular here and have lots of wonderful friends too.

My neighbour S and her family moved to some European country for a year or so. As they were due to leave, they had finalised on a tenant for their apartment and left me the keys to hand over to the tenants. Since the tenants had already seen the place, I just needed to handover the keys when they landed lock, stock and barrel in Hyderabad. About two weeks before they were to move in, the tenant (Mr. DS) gives me a call and says that he needs to see the place. I thought it was weird, so I asked a friend of mine to accompany me when he visits, just in case.

Finally DS turns up with a suitcase( he did not tell me that over the phone) and I open the door of the apartment to allow him to “see” the place. Let me tell you, his behaviour was so weird. My friend seconds that. It seemed to me that he was just doing this without purpose, that his intentions were different. I was just looming large around the place so that he would leave and get out of my face. Then all of a sudden he tells me that I should leave the keys with him as he wanted to empty his suitcase. I shat bricks. I was not prepared for this. The colour drained from my face. My only thoughts were: S had trusted me to look in on her apartment. This man is acting weird but the fact remained that S had met him and agreed to give the apartment. I handed over the keys.

For the next three days, I could not sleep. I was so convinced that he was either a depressed maniac who had planned to commit suicide or he was shady in the terrorist sort-of-way. Eventually his family did move in. And yes they are all very shady. I just can’t put my finger on it. I hate the way they stealthily approach the lifts, almost like a cat on the prowl. They all seem to have undergone a intense training program in creeping around. Of course, they have done several other things that makes me feel the way I do about them.

Then there is Mrs.A. I would rather undergo Chinese torture than have a conversation with her. She just drones on very listlessly about some mundane goings on in her life. I can compare it to scratching on a black board with your nails. Unfortunately her kid goes to the same school as mine and I unfortunately have to see her every day!! I’d rather smell dirty socks or chew at my hand rather than listen to her. I have seen her relating some stuff to another person, and that other person is happily carrying on a conversation with somebody else! Sometimes, I cannot even hear what she is saying, apart from the fact that her voice is so soft, her mannerisms are so weird that I cannot hear her. Has that ever happened to you?