THE SOUND OF A BREATHING HOUSE

PICTURE COURTESY: www.bluebook.state.or.us


It all started one cold night
I woke from a bad dream at 2am,
I woke to a tapping sound,
It seemed to come from above


On any other day,
I would have dismissed this
And drifted off to sleep again.
But on this day, I did the exact opposite,
I tarried a while and listened to the tapping sound
For it was persistent
Consistent
And quite rhythmic too
It sounded quite deliberate
Intentional
Timed to perfection
Like isolated notes in a symphony.


Not quite sure when I nodded off
I woke to the birds and trees the next morning
I kept still,
listened intently,
But there was no tapping sound.
It was like the aftermath of a classical
Performance in the Royal Albert hall
Actors gone
No audience present
Just me staring at the empty stage
And listening to sound of absolute silence.


That night,
I stayed up late,
I could not come to terms with the notion that
I might possibly be losing my mind,
I surely did hear a tapping sound last night,
Please do believe me
It was far from a dream,
I was wide awake through it all.


There I lay in bed,
Wide awake
Waiting on a tapping sound.
As the night grew older,
It was then that I began to hear it again,
Tap
Tap
Tap.....
It seemed to grow louder as the night wore on
And at precise intervals too
Tap
Tap
Tap.....
After listening for a while
My eyes became heavy
I tried my best to stay awake
But the tap put me to sleep
Like a baby and a lullaby.


The next morning,
I complained to the landlord,
Sir, I can’t stand the tapping sound,
Surely you must know of this,
Occupants of the apartment above mine
Keep making tapping sounds deep into the night,
Not had much sleep these past few days,
I always turn up for work half-asleep,
How does one earn a living half-awake?
You must do something about this,
Please tell them to stop that tapping sound.


Sorry sir, he replied,
Looking a bit flustered,
The occupant of the flat above yours passed
Away two years ago,
It has remained vacant ever since.
Come with me,
Let’s go have look,
we went up the creaking stairs,
The floor boards kept threatening to come lose,
We stopped at a doorway,
Neatly attired in cobwebs and doodles,
Knob bearing reminders of gold paint it used to have,
He slipped in the key and turned the lock,
Lock creaked a bit,
Door opened a crack,
He pushed it all the way back,
I stared right into a vacant room
Housing cobwebs and spiders incapable
Of making tapping sounds.
He proceeded to usher me in
But embarrassment got the better part of me,
I surely am mistaken, I stuttered uncomfortably
It must have been the tree branches
Scraping against the windows, I added.


It’s been over a year now,
I have grown used to the ever present tapping sound,
It has become a tune synonymous with my sleep
I cannot sleep till I hear
Tap
Tap
Tap......
That Distinct
Rhythmic
Enchanting monotone
Tap
Tap
Tap......
That mysterious sound
That casts a veil over they eyes
And commands the mind to drift away
Tap
Tap
Tap.....

A week ago,
Noticed a slight discolouration on the
Ceiling of the apartment,
I paid no attention to it,
I let it be,
My encounter with the landlord over the
Tapping sound was far from a distant memory
I should have paid more attention.


Yesterday afternoon, while I was away,
I had a visitor,
Dropped in announced right from the heavens,
Landed smack on my bed.
It was not God, neither was it an angel.
A bathtub paid me a surprise and unwanted visit.
Yes!!! It was a bathtub sadly enough.
A leaky tap was the star of my enchanting tap.
Water took a toll on the wooden boards,
Bathtub came bursting through in response.
At least I now know where the sound came from right?

Ceiling’s fixed now, looks pretty new,
Makes everything else look old,
That’s the least of my problems though,
Been unable to sleep ever since the leak was fixed,
Yet to get a wink since the tap went away.
So tonight I’ll turn my tap on through the night
Hoping imitate that perfect and unmistakable
Tap
Tap
Tap.....
Just so I can spend the night
Spend the night listening to the monotone of
Tap
Tap
Tap......
Falling and drifting off
To the sounds of a dripping tap
Tap
Tap
Tap……….