The Piano Next Door

Samir has lived in his apartment for six months. He knows the unit next door has been empty the entire time. Its "For Rent" sign is still taped crookedly to the window facing the street. He has never once heard a sound through that wall.

Then, one Tuesday night around eleven, soft piano music starts drifting through the wall. He is reading in bed at the time. It's careful, a little hesitant in places. It's the same short piece, played over and over with small improvements each time.

He assumes at first that someone has finally moved in. He never sees a moving truck or any new furniture arrive, though. The music continues most nights that week, always around the same time. It is always the same handful of pieces, always stopping abruptly around midnight.

Curious, Samir knocks on the building superintendent's door the following Saturday. He half expects to learn a new tenant has just moved in quietly. Instead, the superintendent looks a little sheepish.

"That's Milena," he admits. "She's a music student a few buildings over. Her own apartment's walls are paper-thin, so her neighbors complained about late practicing. I let her use the empty unit's piano after hours, before her audition next month. I probably should have mentioned it to you."

Samir isn't upset, just relieved to finally understand what he'd been hearing. He mentions that the piece she keeps repeating sounds better each night. This makes the superintendent laugh, and he admits Milena would probably appreciate hearing that directly.

The next evening, Samir leaves a short note under the empty apartment's door. It reads: "Whoever is practicing next door, it's genuinely lovely. Good luck with your audition." A reply appears under his own door two days later. It is just a few words, thanking him for not complaining like the last building had.