Sunday 10 December 2017

#338 Worlingham Road.

Creak. Creak. Creak. I tiptoed up the stairs as lightly as I could. The weight of my load and the age of the floorboards made the tiptoeing almost pointless but I never liked to create more sound than necessary.

I had just unloaded a dozen large armfuls of luggage from the van into the hallway and now had to take them to the second floor. The sweat dripped from my forehead. On my way, I passed a warm glow from the bedroom on the first floor. My new landlord's door was slightly ajar. She had greeted me at the doorway and given a tour of the house. Now she was probably reading or watching TV. 

I carried the boxes slowly across the hall to the second flight, trying to stifle the sound of my breathing. Artwork lined the walls of every room, as well as the staircases. I gripped the sides of my box tightly and slowly crept upwards, praying that if anything grazed the wall, it'd be one of my knuckles, rather than the edge of the box.

I reached my room and discovered three more paintings, a shelf full of books and a collection of ornaments. The wardrobe was partly occupied by several dresses belonging to the landlord's mother. There remained plenty of space though. I set the box down and then repeated the process nine times.

Once the luggage was all in my room, I tore off my soaked T-Shirt and draped it over the radiator. I made my way over to the en-suite bathroom, which had a skylight. It was angled with the roof and the lower end was roughly the same height as my shoulders. I pushed it open and was hit by a cold rush of air. 

I'd placed a can of Coke against a ridge in the roof just outside the skylight on one of my earlier trips up to the room. I reached for the now-chilled can and cracked it open, wondering if anyone else in the house could hear. I stood there for a while, cooling down and gazing at the familiar sight of the street below and the flickering lights of the horizon beyond. 

2 comments

Fizzfan said...

So you’ve made the move and moved......not sure how you feel, but I’m going for happy for you in the hope that you are.....?
Interesting new chapter........

Peaceful kips and fingers crossed it suits you:)

Profound Familiarity said...

Yes! :) Many thanks Fizz!