"The Noise Above" - short story
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A deafening hammering. A piercing drilling. Incessant,irregular, and irritating, to say the least. It stopped and started, continuedfor several minutes, and then, unexpectedly, there was a lull until it startedup again. It seemed like it would never end. And it was all coming from thefloor above her head.
She couldn’t begin to imagine what was happening upthere. Were they tearing down walls, or building new ones? Were they tiling or wiringor installing or cementing or plastering or who knows what? What she did knowwas that the work was loud, so very loud, and there was dust everywhere.
“Imma, you need to move out,” Shelly insisted. “There’sno way you can stay in your house with all that construction work going onoverhead.
“I’m fine,” she insisted. “It won’t go on forever.”
“Are you wearing those earphones I gave you?” Bennyasked her. “Imma, you'll lose your hearing if you don’t take precautions!”
“I can hear just fine,” she replied, although therewere times when she could literally not hear herself think.
“Live somewhere else for the duration,” Shelly said.
“You can stay with me,” Benny said, although she wasn’tsure he was sincere with his invitation.
“I’m not leaving my home. I refuse, even for this! I’llmanage, Benny. I’ll survive, Shelly. After all, it’s an annoyance only part ofthe day.”
Part of the day? It started at seven in the morning andlasted until four in the afternoon. It didn’t help if she turned the radio upto full volume. Occasionally she went outside, walked down the street, visited Esthernext door, but no matter where she went, the noise followed her, ringing in herears. Even at night, when the workers were long gone and their drills andhammers were silent, she could still hear the pounding and the banging in herhead.
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“I’ll manage,” she tried to convince herself as she layin her bed. She knew Shelly and Benny had her best interests in mind when theysaid she should be move out for the duration of the building, but she wasstubborn and insisted on staying. Maybe not moving out was a mistake, but shewould never admit it. They may be right, but she refused to be wrong. Still, thoughtsof how the mess of construction was interfering with her daily routine, alongwith the constant ringing in her ears, kept her awake for long hours.
Read the rest of the story on New English Review.
