It started with very little warning.  It was the voice like nails on a chalkboard.  But not everyone can have a pleasant voice, so I disregarded the warning and even volunteered to help her when her laundry cart fell apart.  Irritated by her inability to take care of even the smallest problems on her own, I also ignored the agitation I felt when entering her apartment.

 

I had been in this apartment before.  Between tenants I made it a point to tour the place since every unit is a slightly different design.  We were sad to see the previous renter leave, but I could understand as I observed the water damage around the windows.  At least that’s what I thought it was at first.

 

I had occasionally noticed a discomfort, particularly on those dark stormy nights.  I knew not every bit of residue left behind was agreeable, but there being no overwhelming sense of darkness, I was not worried.  There had been a single incident of malevolence in all the months we had been here, but it was quickly banished and without much effort.  In spite of some disturbances between residents, I saw no reason to concern myself with it any further.

 

After she moved in the agitation began to increase.  It was so slight at first that I didn’t really notice until the headaches resumed.  It is rarely just one thing that causes them, or even the fibromyalgia pain in my side so I didn’t think to attribute any of it to her.  It was shortly after Easter when that changed.

 

It started electronically.  The phone, which had been working fine began to lose signal for no reason.  I’d be on a call with my niece and her children when suddenly their voices seemed to be coming from a great distance or cutting out even though I hadn’t moved.  It could be a clear sunny day and yet the phone would behave as though a dense cloud had passed overhead and disrupted my conversation.  It had gotten to the point where I preferred to text than to talk.

 

Then the texts stopped going through.  Nothing had changed since we moved in and my phone was our main source of reaching those who had been our greatest support, but it come to the point where I could not even be sure that I was reciving texts from those within the building.  In the middle of a conversation I would lose service and frustration was not the only thing I would feel.

 

It was like a darkness had begun to creep into my soul.  From being happy to be here I became eager to get away, only feeling good when I was off property.  The miasma magnified when the complaints began. 

 

At first it was obscure noises.  A running machine, banging and clanking.  She was the only one who could hear them, even asking a neighbor for justification of sounds that were not there.  Throughout the night noises could be heard disturbing more than just her sleep.

 

It was when she attacked us that I began to realize there was a real problem.  After a day of quiet celebration she came banging on our door threatening to call the police.  Until that moment we had no idea what was even going on.  We welcomed the involvement of others, knowing we had done nothing wrong.  Her accusations made no sense to us as we had changed nothing, including the volume on our TV since we arrived at Gwynn Memorial, but according to her those previous weeks we were intentionally torturing her with noise.

 

My illnesses began to intensify.  From occasional mild headaches in tune with the changing weather, I began to have serious migraines that kept me in bed.  Nausea was my intimate companion lingering in the pain in my side.  From enjoying the bird calls that woke me each morning, I began to emerge from nights mostly spent lying awake in worry to a fog of morning wondering if I would be able to accomplish anything.  Still, when I had an errand that took me off property, I would emerge in radiance and peace until I had to return, in spite of those sleepless nights.  I knew we had trouble but I wasn’t quite sure where it was coming from.

 

Then there were the images projected on her wall.  This was when I was sure the malevolence I experienced previously in those fleeting moments had found a home to thrive in.