A little more than a year ago, my husband and I moved to a new apartment. We still live in the same place. The building itself is a heritage property, almost a hundred years old and has been renovated with much care and converted into a very modern and chic living space. And because I am attracted to anything that has even an iota of history attached to it, it’s no wonder that I fell in love with this place quickly and completely.
I do find the architectural mix of the old and the new in the building extremely fascinating. One thing that I particularly like is how the interior designers left a bit of the original marble flooring here and there in the hallways, blending with the newly installed carpets. Sure, the marble is a little too scuffed, but it also makes me wonder just how many footsteps they have seen in their lifetime. To me, these floors are a perfect example of harmony between the past and the present.
But it’s not just the history that makes this place a wonderful home to us.
Another beautiful feature is the sight from our ninth-floor apartment. There is a church right across the street and our windows frame the view of its majestic spires. And on looking down one can see the hustle and bustle of the city. Every day I spend some time just looking out of the window. I wonder whether I will be ever lucky enough in the future to have a view comparable to this one and so try to make the most of it while I am still here.
Then there are the furry occupants of the building. As someone who finds it easier to say hello to cats and dogs over their owners, I always look forward to meeting them. Some times, on my way back from running an errand, I take a different route to enter the building just so that I can walk past the pet area. And I am not disappointed on most days. Being able to meet and pet the happy dogs of our apartment building is a big pleasure and always makes my day. I just wish the cats got out of their houses a bit more though.
And the best for the last.
One morning right after we started living in this apartment, we heard someone singing in an amazing soprano voice. It was coming from the next door. A few days later I met and became acquainted with the person behind that voice. I lost no time in telling her that both my husband and I loved her singing. She seemed happy and genuinely relieved at the idea that the people next door would probably never complain about the singing. From then on we would be serenaded from time to time by her beautiful voice. We came to refer to her as “The singer” in our daily conversations.
Then something amazing took place. On my birthday I woke up to the most melodious rendition of “Happy Birthday To You”. It was coming from the next apartment. I figured that our Singer was wishing someone over the phone. It was just a coincidence that it happened to be my birthday as well on that day. But what a pleasant coincidence. In all of my 31 years of existence, I had never heard this song being sung so perfectly. It was one of the best birthday surprises ever.
And then you know what happened?
She moved out of the apartment the next day. We knew that she was going to move out someday soon but didn’t realize it was going to be the very next day. I had planned to tell her about the birthday incident but never got the opportunity to. And as we had the polite acquaintance that exists between neighbors in an apartment building, I don’t think I will ever get that chance back.
But I guess that’s okay. Life is full of such little incidents and not everything ends in the way we would like it to. In fact, how boring our existence will be if we can predict the courses of the stories of our lives. In reality, it is these unexpected turn of events that make our sagas so colorful and so much more shareworthy.
Peace.
o you have any related experience or story to tell? Please share in the comments below. I would love to hear from you.
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