Neighbourhood Novels & Stories

It was a rural area compared to the neighbourhood they all lived in. “I love how calm and serene this place is. Everyone is free and relates to each other, unlike my neighbourhood where everyone minds their business. Imagine, I wasn't aware our neighbours had a hot son. I saw him for the first time yesterday.” Freya said, as they walked down the street holding each other's hands. “Freya, do you intend to add him to your catalogue of boyfriends?” Timothy teased. “Not a bad idea. What do you guys think?” Freya asked.

I knew who was vegan, who was faking it, whose kid was flunking math, and who had a secret stash of chocolate hidden behind the broccoli in the freezer. Sure, the neighborhood skewed older than what we were used to – like a retirement village that hadn’t fully committed – but all in all, it was your typical slice of suburban America: peaceful, nosey, mildly dysfunctional, and smelling like charcoal and secrets. And honestly? It felt truly comforting.

On top of that, Mom would get mad because my body's not exactly cold tolerant. Fortunately, most of our neighbors have been nice to us since we've been the oldest occupants in the neighborhood. Coupled with the fact that my mom was in the community committee, I could safely say we got some special treatment. Knocking on a random door to ask for some minutes of shelter till the rain stopped wouldn't be a bad idea. Clicking the doorbell, I rubbed my palms together, my teeth chattering, before it dawned on me exactly whose house I was at.

The chrome and glass structures grew larger the closer we drove into the city, towering over us like a concrete jungle. People walked by, fixated on their phones and paying no mind to the people they passed. They stared straight ahead, cold and unbothered. The juxtaposition to our tiny community, filled with friendliness and warmth, was stark. People here didn't know or care about their neighbour, only focused on staying ever in motion.

Or someone. I suspected that the first time I saw her. Every day that conclusion is reinforced. She is running and she is doing all she can to pretend she isn’t. Who moves into a tiny, quiet neighborhood like this and installs the most expensive home security system on the market? This is an upper middleclass neighborhood primarily populated by ex-soldiers like me. I know the real estate agent who sells homes in this little forty-three house community always stresses that thirty-three military families live here. I imagine this little girl thinks of that as more security as well. It probably means she’s familiar with the military, maybe grew up with parents in service.

Nevena walked towards her rented apartment. She walked along the passageway to her house carefully avoiding being splashed by water since it had rained. The rattling of rats seemed to not bother her. The noisy neighbourhood was filled with bad smells of some sort, urine, cigarette smoke, sewage and what not…she was accustomed to it. She was aware how disgusting and shabby the area they were living in was… She twisted the key and fought to open the door. Dimming on the lights in the passageway. She wished her mother had not gone to her hometown. Now she was not used to the emptiness and the silence that reigned in the house.

Huge trees and some bungalows here and there. It was a newly developed suburb according to the brochures and the realtor. As peaceful as I imagined. The security part, we'd have to see in a few months. The bermuda grass looked much lighter than the bushes around the tall concrete fence, but Mykaela seemed to appreciate it. The lights, the backyard ornaments, and the rather unique pool design also got me some nods of approval from her. "Your nearest neighbor's house is minutes away." She kept staring at me as we stood next to the patio.

"Oh! I said welcome to the Triangle neighborhood. Sorry, I sometimes forget that newcomers aren't familiar with our little nickname for the area." A bright, almost conspiratorial smile crossed her lips, and she didn't hesitate to satisfy my curiosity. She was clearly enjoying playing the role of neighborhood guide. "There are only three houses in this entire gated community," she explained, her voice taking on a storyteller's cadence. "And if you connect them on a map, they form a perfect triangle shape. My house and yours represent the two points on the base, and the massive palace directly opposite us is the third point at the top."

"You live in a place like this?" Maureen was still amazed when she entered the apartment corridor, following Ben who preceded her with a box containing copies of the meeting results and some additional plans. "Still rare, huh?" Ben turned to face Maureen and walked backwards, bragging about his rare home. Compared to the big city, their nearest neighbor, the available apartment buildings were still under ten stories. The effect of most of the soil structure on which the foundations rested was still swampy.

The neighbour's name was Gerald. He lived two doors down, retired, spent a lot of time at his front window or out front doing things that didn't really need doing just so he could be where he could see the street. He was friendly enough. Always said good morning. Always commented on Nora when he saw her. Told Maya once that they'd been a good addition to the road which Maya took as a compliment even though the way he said it suggested he'd had opinions about previous additions.