Neighbors

I live in a small building with four apartments. I share a rusty front door with one other family. The other two apartments have their own entrances. I have been invited into both of their houses but never the house of my closest neighbors. My neighbors are always polite but they speak no English or French. I speak no Hassaniya and although I do try to greet them, we have not really become friends. It always seems that they are very busy. In fact, they are so busy that sometimes they do strange things, like turn off my water from outside and hammer into walls at 1:00 am.


Our apartments both have two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a large living room and decent kitchen. It is spacious for one. On their side of the building they have five children, four women, in addition to two domestic servants. They have a full house. I rarely see them except for the times the kids play in the hallway or when they arrive home at the same time. This is part of the reason why I was surprised yesterday to hear one woman singing from inside their house. I was even more shocked when I realized that she was singing "We are the World" in English!



For the past three nights, one of my neighbors has been sleeping in the hallway that connects our apartments. In the mornings I had to step over the blankets and pillows on my way to work. Yet somehow I am comforted by their presence outside. My neighbors are serving as 24-hour security guards and I don't have to pay a penny for their services.


Although I wouldn't describe our relationship as "close" maybe my neighbors are offering an olive branch. They are providing me with protection and songs of solidarity. Maybe it is time that I start thinking about what I can do for them. A batch of world famous cookies is in order!