Rainbirds by Clarissa Goenawan

Author:Clarissa Goenawan
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Literary Fiction
Publisher: Soho Press
Published: 2017-12-20T21:40:16+00:00

19

The

House

Behind

the

Flower

Bushes

When I’d first seen the apartment, it had been late afternoon, and the sunset might have romanticized the atmosphere of the building. But in broad daylight, the apartment looked more run-down than I remembered. The faded pink walls were peeling and stained with watermarks. There was rust all over the metal railings, and the wooden staircase was chipped. At least the overall construction looked solid.

“I’m surprised they haven’t torn this place down,” Honda said, climbing the staircase. “It’s been around since World War II and hasn’t once been renovated. The landlord should have at least added an elevator.”

“If they had, the rent wouldn’t be so affordable,” I said.

“Maybe the rentals are just a front, and some rooms store drugs or firearms.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

Even if that were the case, I couldn’t have cared less. The rent was within my budget, and they accepted month-to-month occupants. I wondered whether the landlord actually turned a profit here, charging so little.

Breathing heavily, we finally reached the fifth floor. I took out my keys and opened the door. After setting down my belongings, I surveyed the unit. There was a lingering musty odor. I opened all the windows to let the air circulate.

In one corner of the living room, I saw a television coated with a thick layer of dust. I tried turning it on, thinking Honda might want to watch something, but it was broken. After fiddling with it for a while, I gave up and went to the bathroom to wash my hands. To my dismay, there was no hot water. No wonder the place was so unpopular. I could always boil water like in period films, but I knew I was too lazy to do that. Well, I’d gotten what I’d paid for.

“Is everything okay?” Honda asked.

“Yes, yes,” I answered, rinsing my hands under the tap.

The mirror in front of me was cloudy with dirt. It looked like my first task would be to clean the place thoroughly. I sighed. Not my favorite way to spend a day off.

The apartment was a five-story building, and each floor had eight units. A third were occupied, and several of the units weren’t available for rent—not that I bought Honda’s reasoning for that. In real life, things were seldom that interesting. Most likely, the units were damaged beyond repair.

As far as I knew, the first floor was fully rented out. The higher the floor, the fewer tenants there were. On my floor, there was only one renter apart from me.

The building’s occupants were a mix of college students and young professionals. It wasn’t hard to remember their faces, since there weren’t many of them. They all lived alone, except for one young couple.

“The landlord wants to rent it out to single occupants only,” the bespectacled building manager, Izumi, told me.

A week after my move, she called me to her apartment to pick up some documents. Room 304 doubled as her home and office. I paid rent each month through her. If there was any problem with the appliances, she was the person I should speak with.

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