Eerie condo silence descends

I took my time rising this morning, as it was raining outside.

The sound of soft rainfall makes me sleepy, and I like it. The sky is still a dark grey, almost purplish colour, and the air is cool.

Apart from the sound of the rain outside, all about us was oddly quiet. Normally at this hour, the din of the day has started...kids crying, adults arguing, and that's just in our condo.

I ventured into the hallway to investigate.

Surprise! The noisy, inconsiderate Chinese family which has persecuted us for months has upped sticks and gone.

Overnight, they packed their things, and evacuated the two rooms they occupied on our floor.

My partner  Maiyuu overheard them say months ago that they would like to find a bigger place to rent.

When I returned from work last night I saw them packing, but thought nothing of it.

This morning, however, they were gone.

When I woke, I noticed how quiet the floor had become, for the first time in years.

'What's going on?' I asked Maiyuu.

'Maybe they are asleep,' he said.

I placed a fold-out plastic stool in front of their door, and stood on it hastily.

If the Chinese were still about, I didn't want them to spot me. We do not get along.

A thin strip of glass runs along the length of the room, just below ceiling level.

It's put there to let in light from the hallway, but today served as my peeping hole.

I took a quick look through the window, and clambered down.

The room was dirty, but bare. So was the other room they occupied on the opposite side of the hallway.

They left a small burn patch on one floor, where they kept their gas cooker. Other than that, there was no sign of them.

The Chinese liked to leave open the doors to their rooms all day, except when their children were sleeping.

We were privy to all their living noises - conversation in Chinese, cooking sounds, children crying, parents arguing.

They regarded the ninth floor as their own; the rest of us who just happened to rent or own places, a mere inconvenience.

I complained to the condo office many times about the noise.

'We'll talk to them,' said the manager.

Office staff warned them to keep down the noise, but they carried on regardless.

If I shouted, or banged on their door in a moment of anger, they would look at me stunned, and shut up for a moment - then start making noise again.

Once, we argued in the hallway.

I left my room shouting and cursing, as I could no longer concentrate, the noise was so bad.

The Chinese family comprised two sisters in her 30s, along with their two young sons.

They had one child each to a sulky Thai/Chinese man. He shared the same space with them, along with his spindly, grey-haired mother.

The old woman was the worst, as she let the kids do whatever they wanted.

Want to ride a bike and bang into things in the hallway? No problem!

I saw one of the mothers crossing the hall, so let her have it.

'You really just don't give a shit about anyelse else, do you?' I fumed.

The woman, a tiny thing with a fiesty temper, started banging away at me in Chinese.

Her aged, child-indulgent mother heard the commotion and joined us in the hall.

Now, I had two women shouting at me in Chinese.

'Maw maw maw maw!'

I shouted at them again, and stormed off. Short of throwing objects into their room, what else could I do?

In my battles with the Chinese, Maiyuu was little help. Being Thai, he does not like confrontation, so says nothing unless really pushed.

'When I was at work at night, did they make as much noise then as they used to do during the day?' I asked Maiyuu.

'Yes.'

'Did you ever complain?'

'No.'

Speaking up for our right to live in peace and quiet was my job, and Maiyuu was happy to let me get on with it.

This might be a good time to talk to the people who run this condo. I would like to tell them that if a family moves in, I reserve the right to spank their children when the noise gets out of hand.

For the time being, the place next to us is vacant.

This is a popular condo, so it may not sit unoccupied for much longer. Who knows what lies ahead?

This could be the lull before the storm, but for the time being we are enjoying it.