Outside Our Apartment Windows
A short story
The windows in our apartment are wide open — fresh air is a delight in quarantine times.
I’m working, my husband is working, and all of a sudden we hear, “Nah, Nah, Nah, Nah, Nah — you can’t get me!”
Then there’s a fit of giggles.
There’s a hum of a car or two.
Then there’s a murmur of an adult voice.
Then it begins all over again.
I sit at my spot where I’m writing and smile. My husband chuckles a bit, too. When we first started life in quarantine, the chaos of the outside world felt like yet another hurdle to get over as we adjusted to our new normal — now, those tiny nuggets of sound from outside our window make us smile.
They’re a reminder that life is still happening.
The earth is still turning. The sun is still shining. The moon hasn’t stopped glowing at night — and neither has the stars. The flowers are blooming, and the birds are still chirping, and children are laughing outside of our window.
They’re a reminder that we’re still here.
We’re still here, even though this all feels like a weird science fiction movie.
We’re still here even though this is very uncertain and scary and different and yet mundane at the same time.
We’re still here, breathing and living and hoping that the ones we love are doing the same.
The windows in our apartment are wide open — and we can hear a soft hum from the cars in the parking lot.
A kid plays his music too loud, and the entire neighborhood can hear it, too.
Neighbors from across the way shout, “turn the music off!”
It takes him a bit, he but lowers it just a little.
They aren’t satisfied, and so they yell once more, “turn the music off!”
Lower it goes, until it’s just a faint hum.
My husband and I, cuddled on the couch, have a good laugh — the whole scene seemed as if it was from a sitcom.
The windows in our apartment are wide open — we love to let the fresh air inside.
And in with the air comes the laughter of children playing.
And in with the air comes the music of teenagers thriving and neighbors yelling.
And in with the air comes life, being lived.
The sun is still shining.
The moon still glows.
And we’re all still here.
