wake up

I wake from groggy sleep. I hear my new next-door neighbor fiddle with his new key in his new lock. For some reason, I need to see him, to peek at him through the mere door that separates his unit from mine. It is late, but still I think: just one peek. There has been no male living in this house in the past year and a half. I am for irrational reasons terrified of the day that there will be a male living here; it upsets my peace of mind for wordless reasons, some of which you can guess and some of which are only shadows cast on the wall of my imagination. Yet another reason for me to move out, and soon. It takes me minutes to make it across my floor, creeping silently with bare feet on hardwood. The cat follows, also silent. I do not know why it’s...