The Downstairs Neighbor
Claudia lives one floor below Almira and Anders with her partner Otto and their daughter. They have lived in the apartment in the center of Copenhagen for 30 years and were accustomed to peaceful neighbor relations up to about ten years ago, when the elderly couple who lived above them moved out. Their new neighbor was a young man, whom I will call Philip, who was now living away from his parents and in an apartment building for the first time.
Philip removed the carpets and invited his friends over. The sounds of his late-night parties soon came to represent a serious problem for Claudia. For the first time in her life she began having trouble sleeping. She complained to Philip but was not met with much understanding. Their relationship soon developed into an intense conflict, culminating in Philip’s lawyer informing Claudia that all further communication she wished to have with her upstairs neighbor would have to go through him.
Around four years ago, Philip moved out and a guy I will call Anders took over the apartment. A year and a half ago, Almira moved in with him. Although Anders also moved in directly from his parents’ house, like Philip, Anders and Almira lead a much quieter life, without regular parties. However, during the six-plus years that Philip lived upstairs, Claudia developed an extreme sensitivity to sounds – especially that emanating from her neighbors.
When he’s home, Anders walks without shoes and “on his toes” – meaning his toes touch the floor before the rest of his foot – so Claudia can barely hear his footsteps through her ceiling. Almira, on the other hand, walks like most people, with her heels striking the floor first. Even without shoes, when Almira’s heels land on the wooden floors, Claudia immediately registers the sound and experiences it as a nuisance. This is particularly problematic for Claudia in the evening, as she directly associates the sounds of Almira’s footsteps to her experiences with Philip. Indeed, she explains, if she hears Almira arriving home a bit late, she anticipates the sounds of her footsteps in the apartment to continue for several hours. It causes heart palpitations and makes her worry that she will not be able to “find the peace” she needs.
“Some alternative people say that sound goes directly into your chakras,” Claudia says. “I say it goes directly into the heart, and I can definitely sense it in my pulse as well.” Claudia does not attempt to sleep if she believes Almira’s footsteps are likely to be audible. If she hears footsteps, she will simply wait until they stop before she enters her bedroom.