SHORT STORY THE NEIGHBOUR
THE NEIGHBOUR
Automatic traslation from the original story in Spanish. Not checked manually
Amaya had arrived at the building a month ago. She never found anyone. Because of her schedule, the elevator seemed to belong to her, she always went first thing, which was lucky because she lived in the attic.
She loved doing radio in the early morning. From the terrace, drinking the obligatory coffee, she watched the empty streets. The occasional car or motorcycle. Someone going to the pharmacy or walking a dog. Tranquillity.
The winter wind at that hour doesn’t bother her. She sips her hot coffee; she still has an hour before going to the radio. She likes to go quietly.
Suddenly the doorbell rings.
She looks at the clock. It’s four in the morning.
A little annoyed, she leaves the terrace and enters the apartment, heading to the door and peering through the peephole.
In front of her door, she sees a man her age. Attractive. Several cardboard boxes around him… could it be a new neighbour?
She puts on the security chain and opens the door a crack…
—Yes?
—Hi, my name is Boris, sorry to bother you at this hour. I’m moving house and I’ve lost my key. I was going to call, but my cell phone’s battery is dead.
The girl looks at him through the half-open door, sees that he’s wearing Paco Rabanne clothes, and is wearing leather gloves. He seems like a normal guy…
—Don’t worry. —she says as she opens the door. —Believe it or not, I have a landline.
Boris enters and Amaya discreetly looks at her tight jeans. She shows him the phone.
The wind on the terrace begins to blow more intensely, she goes to close the door, but first she decides to take the last sips of her coffee.
With her cup of coffee in her hand, she approaches the railing, which is very low for an attic, but she’s not afraid of heights.
She takes a sip and out of the corner of her eye she sees a dark figure, it looks like Boris… A second, the full moon, the void, someone has pushed her and she is falling…
Boris, from above, looks at Amaya’s already lifeless body… he takes his mobile phone out of his pocket and dials a number…
—Yes. The job is done. It was quite easy. Tomorrow you will no longer have to return the children to her. You will now have full custody of your children without her putting any obstacles in your way.
Boris’s voice is confused with the murmur of the radio, which, at a low volume, is still on saying: “In half an hour, Amaya will be with you, the voice of ‘Black Velvet’, your favourite programme of the early morning.
Boris turns off the radio, leaves the flat and closes the door softly. He picks up the empty cardboard boxes and goes down in the lift.
In the street, a few people gather around the body of a dead woman, while one of them calls the emergency services… It starts to rain… Boris opens the umbrella and walks away.
The Neighbour – Short stories series – Copyright ©Montserrat Valls and Juan Genovés