Neighbour from hell (ver 2) | Essay for kids | Elijah Wee | Singapore

Neighbour from hell – version 2

            Shocked beyond words.

            Whenever she passed by, everyone would think she was just like any middle-aged woman. You can always expect her arrival when you hear the ‘click-click-click’ sound of her high-heeled shoes. To me, she is none other than my annoying neighbour, Mrs Lim. Every night, her living room hi-fi stereo would be turned on at full blast, and accompanied by her off-key karaoke singing that threatened to destroy the average eardrums. That fateful Friday, however, I finally learnt about the truth behind Mrs Lim’s habitual singing …

            Eyelids as heavy as lead, I slumped onto my comfortable leather sofa. I had burnt the candle at both ends studying for my Primary Five Science examinations. Overwhelmed by fatigue, I was just about to doze off when the loud blaring music accompanied by the familiar dreaded ear-piercing off-key singing disturbed the peaceful late night air which had enveloped our block of flats.

            Groan.

            Mrs Lim was at it again.

            Sighing with hapless weariness, I tried to salvage some rest by covering my ears with a cushion, but to no avail. Can Mrs Lim for goodness sake be more considerate and stop her “singing”? Just then, adrenaline surging, I decided that enough was enough.

            Scrambling from my hapless weariness, I headed to Mrs Lim’s house like a soldier on a mission. There and then, I delivered a roundhouse kick on Mrs Lim’s door, which sent me rattling like a machine gun on its hinges. The moment I did so, I regretted my foolish actions. A sudden deathly hush ensued, followed by deliberate footsteps approaching the assaulted door. All initial traces of bravado vanished incomprehensibly from me and my legs turned to jelly.

            What I did not expect when her door opened was the sight of Mrs Lim’s smooth porcelain face marred by streaks of tears.

            Gesturing apologetically for me to enter, Mrs Lim shut the door behind her. Settling myself into the leather chair offered by Mrs Lim, I sensed that Mrs Lim had something to narrate to me. I leaned forward and lent an attentive ear to her story, which was interspersed by occasional streaming tears unguarded down her lack of colour cheeks. Apparently before she had moved into the house a year ago, Mrs Lim’s son, husband and her had been involved in a car accident. While Mrs Lim had escaped unscathed from the accident, her son and husband were not spared from death’s cruel clutches. Ever since then, she discovered that singing helped her forget her sorrows. “Why did Fate rob me of my dear husband and son?” “Why?” Mrs Lim wailed, her face bearing the wretchedness that she was experiencing. While I tried my best to comfort Mrs Lim, I was also shocked beyond words.

            Shocked beyond words on hearing the story behind Mrs Lim’s loud singing.

            Shocked beyond words on how Fate could play such a cruel joke on Mrs Lim.

            Shocked beyond words.