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Neighbor

May 2, 2017

He couldn't get along with his neighbor very well. He lived alone in a house in the suburbs. He was an architect and worked in his house. One day, construction of a new house began on the empty lot next to his house. Usually people who build a new house go to their neighbors in advance and say hello with an apology about the noise of the construction, sometimes bringing a small gift with them. But, the owner of the new house didn't do anything. Sometimes the owner-like person; who was in his 60s, came to the building site to talk with the workers, but he always ignored his new neighbor, him.   One time when he was going out to eat, he realized that the owner-like person was at the construction site. He went up to the guy and said, "Nice house, huh? The owner should be proud of this house." The person said, "I'm the owner and I'm proud of this house. Especially, I like the security system." He thought that this area was rather safe but said nothing. The person didn't say another thing, so he started to introduce himself; but, the guy already disappeared. He was speechless. After the completion of the house, he expected that maybe his new neighbor might have an opening house party and he might be invited, but there was no party, not even any greetings. As his neighbor's house didn't have a name plate, he didn't know his name. He could go and introduce himself, but he didn't want to. It should be the newcomer that greets first, he thought. As he worked at home, it was not so bad that his neighbor was quiet and didn't like to socialize. But it seemed weird that he didn't know anything about his neighbor. The neighbor only went out for shopping once a week. Also, he threw out his decomposable garbage, like vegetable waste, into the compost box in his garden every morning. Nobody came to the house except the postman and the newspaper delivery person. One time, he thought to sneak to see the name from the postal envelope, but he remembered that the owner mentioned about his house's security system. The alarm system might ring and police officers might come. He gave up. Two years passed. He still didn't know his neighbor's name. On this night, he went to the bathroom and realized that one of the neighbor's rooms was lit. It seemed weird because it was the first time a room was lit during the late night. The neighbor never stayed up late like normal senior people. In the morning, he looked at that room. He couldn't say whether the room was lit or not because it was bright outside and all the windows were covered by the curtains. It was noon but all the curtains remained closed, and he didn't take out the compost. In the evening, he realized the room was still lit. He became restless. Did something happen to the guy? But, he might just have gone on a trip and just forgot to turn off the lights. The next morning, he went to the entrance of the neighbor's house. There were a bunch of newspapers. The oldest looked three days old. Usually the person who goes on a trip stops newspaper delivery for the time. He felt an uneasiness. He rang the doorbell but there was no answer. He tried to open the door but it was locked. He looked around the house but he couldn't see anything inside. All the windows were shut. He called the police and explained about the situation. The male police officer said, "So, the neighbor of yours has lived next to you for 2 years but you don't know his name, and now you are worried about this stranger, right?"  He felt offended, and told the officer his name and address and hung up. He thought that the police wouldn't come, and thought about what to do next. He looked around and found a big rock in the garden. He picked up the rock and went to one of the windows that set lower than the others. He looked around. A woman was walking with her dog in the street. He closed his eyes and threw the rock at the window with all of his might. With a big sound, the window broke. He thought that the alarm would ring, but didn't. He unlocked the window, and opened it. Then, he carefully entered into the house. He proceeded to the room which was lit. And he found the neighbor laying on the floor. The neighbor looked at him in a relieved expression, and said in a hoarse voice, "I got stuck." Soon police cars with sirens came and the officers rushed into the room. In their hands, there were guns. The neighbor was eating food and drinking water. The guy was looking at them with amazement. The gist of the story: The neighbor liked detective stories very much. He bought fake police handcuffs. He handcuffed one of his hands to the door knob, like in the movies. Then he realized that he didn't have the key to the handcuffs in the range that he could reach. Unluckily for him, he made the study-room soundproof expecting quietness, and nobody noticed his shouting. The windows were so strong that he couldn't break them by throwing things into them. He didn't eat or drink for 3 days. After the police left, the neighbor and the guy left. The guy realized the neighbor hadn't thanked him yet. He said, "I'll go." The neighbor said, "I have something to say."  "Go ahead."  "You need to pay for the repair cost of the window."  He was speechless. But, soon the neighbor said, "It's a joke, of course. I said a joke for the first time in ages … anyways …. Thank you very much." He held out his hand and added, "My name is XXXX. Nice to meet you."

*completion :完成
*decomposable :分解する
*hoarse :しわがれた
*gist :骨子