The first thing I observed was the curtain. Red, and it has faded on the top, with one small tear at the left, which was obvious. I remember having some thoughts, “At least this place looks peaceful.”
I just got out of a room where I'd lost focus because I couldn't concentrate. My flatmate's Bluetooth speaker seemed permanently switched on, and it has become his usual habit of always playing some Afrobeat music every Saturday while his speaker is at the highest. I wanted no disturbances, somewhere I could concentrate on my work without putting my earpod on before 7 a.m.
So when another flatmate told me about an empty room that is always available in his compound, I was not bothered to question him. It was a standard room, the rent was still fair enough, and the room was spacious. And there was this fancy wooden table next to the window. I made my payment and moved in after, and in my mind, I thought I'd make a very good decision.
While arranging my room. The first question that came to my mind was why I left the previous house, and I got to discover what the tenant who moved out had left.
I sat up around 12 a.m. (midnight) when I was hearing something scratching the window. The scratch continued for some time. Stops, then continues again.
I openedh curtain and I saw a dog staring directly at me.
I don't know when I am started laughing that I had to cover my mouth.
The following morning, I went to the landlord to ask him about it.
“The dog belongs to my sister," he said to me in a casual way. “It likes staying around that window."
"Sir, I was unable to sleep. It keeps disturbing my sleep."
He looked at me and with his unfriendly face, he nodded and said "In due time, you will get used to it.
I did not.
For the next couple of weeks, hits like he said that the dog loves staying around my mind, and it has become part of my life. It stretched through the window while I was doing my work. It chewed the edge of a carton containing my books. And one night, I saw it at front of the door like it owned it.
I eventually stopped fighting it.
And I had no other choice than to reposition the table from the window and begin to wake up early to do my work and stay productive. The problem that I wanted to escape was what now forced me to change my work routine.
One afternoon, I was outside the compound with the landlord, receiving fresh air while this dog was running around the compound.
He looked at my face and said, “It's been a while since you complained about the dog.”
I smiled. “I think we have reached an agreement.”
He laughed.
All I wanted was a perfect room. Instead, I paid for a new strange little place with red curtains and an unreasonable dog. And looking at what happened back then, I think what changed was not the room. Somehow, I had stopped needing everything around me to behave before I could feel settled.
The dog still scratched the window sometimes.
The dog still sometimes barks and does some scratching.on the wall
When. It's doing these thy, im mostly awake.
By then, I was usually awake already.
Thank you for reading.
Images created by Gemini AI
