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last night, gabe had work to do, so he was in the living room, at the computer. i, however, wanted to be well rested for today's interview, so i went to bed. it was cool and there was a nice breeze coming in, so i bundled up under the comforter. there was a warm light coming in from the living room and the window blinds were opened toward me so i could look out over the city as i was drifting to sleep.
our apartment is next to the fire escape, and sometimes there's someone out there talking on their cellphone in spanish or sitting there smoking a cigarette i can smell. but they're usually pretty respectful, because the railing of the escape comes right up against one side of the bedroom window. no one's really supposed to be out there or on the roof...you can get evicted for that. but gabe and i don't really care, since the building's full of nice people.
but last night it was quiet and i had a little trouble drifting off in anticipation for the interview. at one point, i opened my eyes, exasperated with myself, and tried to talk myself into calmness and sleep. i just breathed for a second, staring at the ceiling, listening to the click-clack of gabe's computer keys, starting to feel very comforted and happy that finally things were starting to fall into place. i turned on my side to drift off over the city.
and there was a face in the window, two feet from the bed.
someone was leaning over the fire escape railing and looking right at me.
i couldn't see a face, just a black silhouette of a man--probably hispanic by his shape and hairstyle--slowly leaning and stretching so his face could see around the window frame. (if any of you have seen "the ring," you may reference the black figure now.)
for a split second, i didn't even register it, then i was up and screaming, "WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU??? WHO???" and gabe is up and yelling, "what is it?" "THERE'S SOMEONE LOOKING IN THE WINDOW!!" and gabe, angrier than i've ever heard him: "WHAT!!!!!"
then there was a flurry to the door to see if they'd climbed out into the hall past our door, but we were either too late or they had run up the fire escape. and then it was me in tears and gabe hugging me and my uncontrollable shaking and his smoothing my hair. i was pretty out of control for about 5 minutes and then i calmed down, until i realized that this might not have been the first time i'd been watched, and then the crying started all over again.
gabe gallantly offered to talk to our building managers and try to get out of the lease. and i'm thinking about it...but i really don't want to move again and i think it was just someone being an asshole, without real intent, who just saw a light on and decided to look in. after all, you'd have to be spiderman to get INTO the apartment from the escape. still. we don't know, and we're filing a police report.
in the meantime, i'm just angry. because it probably was just some young shithead on the escape who was curious and had little respect for privacy. and while he was probably just fucking around, i have to carry that image in my head forever.
our apartment is next to the fire escape, and sometimes there's someone out there talking on their cellphone in spanish or sitting there smoking a cigarette i can smell. but they're usually pretty respectful, because the railing of the escape comes right up against one side of the bedroom window. no one's really supposed to be out there or on the roof...you can get evicted for that. but gabe and i don't really care, since the building's full of nice people.
but last night it was quiet and i had a little trouble drifting off in anticipation for the interview. at one point, i opened my eyes, exasperated with myself, and tried to talk myself into calmness and sleep. i just breathed for a second, staring at the ceiling, listening to the click-clack of gabe's computer keys, starting to feel very comforted and happy that finally things were starting to fall into place. i turned on my side to drift off over the city.
and there was a face in the window, two feet from the bed.
someone was leaning over the fire escape railing and looking right at me.
i couldn't see a face, just a black silhouette of a man--probably hispanic by his shape and hairstyle--slowly leaning and stretching so his face could see around the window frame. (if any of you have seen "the ring," you may reference the black figure now.)
for a split second, i didn't even register it, then i was up and screaming, "WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU??? WHO???" and gabe is up and yelling, "what is it?" "THERE'S SOMEONE LOOKING IN THE WINDOW!!" and gabe, angrier than i've ever heard him: "WHAT!!!!!"
then there was a flurry to the door to see if they'd climbed out into the hall past our door, but we were either too late or they had run up the fire escape. and then it was me in tears and gabe hugging me and my uncontrollable shaking and his smoothing my hair. i was pretty out of control for about 5 minutes and then i calmed down, until i realized that this might not have been the first time i'd been watched, and then the crying started all over again.
gabe gallantly offered to talk to our building managers and try to get out of the lease. and i'm thinking about it...but i really don't want to move again and i think it was just someone being an asshole, without real intent, who just saw a light on and decided to look in. after all, you'd have to be spiderman to get INTO the apartment from the escape. still. we don't know, and we're filing a police report.
in the meantime, i'm just angry. because it probably was just some young shithead on the escape who was curious and had little respect for privacy. and while he was probably just fucking around, i have to carry that image in my head forever.
