A new neighbour.

Jesse.

I hear a loud car horn, the sound reverberates all the way to my soul, startling me off my position on the sofa i have been relaxing on for the past hour or so. It is obvious i had fallen asleep. My neck is stiff and i feel like i have been run over by a truck.

The whole point of being home this Saturday and not going out like my friends suggested, was to have some alone time and rejuvenate from work related stress. The plan was to binge watch Law and order while snacking on some junk food i'll come to regret later.

But what do i do instead? I doze off and miss out on most of the action showing on my screen.

The horn goes off again and this time i drop the remote in my hand. Who could that be for goodness sake? everyone who lives in Villa Maria house knows not to horn when entering the premises. The house owner made sure to plaster that particular rule in every tenant's head, which means the person at the gate does not live here.

I scramble off the sofa and do a little stretch, then place the remote on the center piece in front of me just in time to hear the horn go off a third time.

Now i am curious.

I scurry over to a window in my living room that i have dubbed "the snooping window" or " the amebo window". The reason being that i spend an ungodly amount of time looking through it to spy on my unsuspecting neighbours.

I admit that it is not a very manly thing to do and i sometimes feel guilty about it , but old habits die hard, courtesy of growing up as the only boy in a house filled with sisters, and with the kind of neighbours i have, the kind that do not interact except when necessary, anybody with this advantage would be tempted to snoop as well.

As it so happens, my apartment is on the highest floor of the 3 story building myself and a little over a dozen other tenants call home. It allows me to see right over the fences and the massive gate protecting the residents of Villa maria house. I can also make out the front courtyard that leads to each tenants apartment, so there is very little that goes on in the house that escapes my notice.

For instance, i know which neighbour likes to sneak in a few hours before dawn, no doubt after a night of clandestine activities, and always ends up leaving the security lights on for the house owner, Mr Kelechi, to complain about. Then there is the neighbour whose car is never parked right, or the one that owns a dog even though there is a rule that forbids pets.

I have also been able to place names with faces from my time spent snooping, otherwise i wouldn’t even know the people i live with because they all mostly keep to their affairs, especially the female tenants, who don't even bother to be civil, must be something in the air in Villa Maria house. All attempts on my part at being friendly has been met with lukewarm energy that i found discouraging.

The gate is wide open now and i watch as a car drives in, followed by a big white truck that has Bluehedge relocators plastered in bold texts on it's sides. It appears Villa maria house would be housing a new tenant.

Both Vehicles come to a stop and after a few seconds a young man exits the driver's side of the car. From what i can see, he looks young, about my age, huge, tall, with a roguish look about him that i instantly like. Could he be my new neighbour? The apartment opposite mine has been vacant since i moved in a year ago, i always wondered when someone would take it. Guess that day was today.

The passenger's door opens and a lady comes out of the car. I am not able to make out her face but i can tell she is young as well, probably younger than the guy who is now talking to someone on the phone. Could she be his girlfriend, wife, Friend? I am curious to know.

Some guys also exit the moving truck and the lady, who i still can't make out, goes over to speak to them. She is then joined by the man, and all 5 of them engage in a conversation.

Minutes go by and i watch in dismay as the man gives the lady a rather long goodbye hug, gets in his car and drives out of the premises. Well, that's what i get for jumping into conclusions.

As the implication of another female neighbour dawns on me, i irritatedly push off the wall i had been leaning on to snoop and head back into my living room to sulk.

What an epic let down that was. Another female neighbour meant the same civil interactions that end with me regretting my efforts. But then, she could be an exception, a swan in the midst of several indifferent ducklings, a friendly face instead of cold civility. If only i were optimistic enough to take a chance, it's the perfect example of the saying once bitten twice shy, but in this case i prefer to be shy forever.

Minutes go buy and i resume my position on the sofa, flipping through channels while contemplating what best to have for dinner, then i hear a knock on my apartment door.

It almost feels ominous.

Who could it be? I didn't invite anyone over and people rarely come knocking on my door except for Mr Kelechi who has taken it upon himself to ruin my preferred solitude every now and then with his presence and complains.

I go over to my front door and open it, but the person on the other side is definitely not my overbearing house owner. It's a woman, a very beautiful woman, with bright expressive eyes and full lips that i can't get myself to look away from.

I watch those lips form words but i am too dumbstruck to make out what she's trying to tell me. Her expressive eyes flash in annoyance at my lack of response and i force myself to snap out of this foolery.

"Sorry about that" I say, feeling rather stupid. "Can you please repeat that? "

She smiles and says,

"Sure, i said my name is Anita and i'll be moving into the apartment opposite yours"

Her smile is contagious and i can't help but smile as well.

"Nice to meet you Anita, i'm Jesse, welcome to Villa Maria house"

We shake hands and i instantly get the feeling that i might be staring at a "swan in the midst of ducklings" after all.