Lurkers be Lurking

This is the second time where I have caught someone listening outside our door.

For context, we live with mother-in-law, in her seniors' apartment building. Because of people's health problems, declining health, disabilities, etc. many PSW (Personal Support Workers) are employed throughout the building. They work various hours, making trips from floor to floor, patient to patient.

So again, this is a seniors' building. No one else is meant to be here but them. And we are currently living here with our two small, loud children.

I know that everybody in this building talks. Isolated seniors with no family and nothing to do but gossip. We have obviously never told anyone that we live here, even when they insinuate it. We have told maybe three people our room number, but again, word travels fast!

And I know that people eavesdrop at our door, for I have seen it for myself.

(Image created using an AI art generator)

I always hear faint noises outside our door -- soft, scuffling noises -- and I know to always trust my gut. My mind would not bring it to my attention if it was meant to be ignored. My heart would not start pounding unless it were due to an invasion of my privacy. Again, I am not conceited or self-obsessed (you'll quickly learn it's really the other way around, unfortunately). I am just conscientious enough to know that people are bored, miserable, and stupid.

The first time it occurred, I had just whipped the door open to take the garbage out. Along the right side of the door, I had just managed to catch a flash of hair before it ran off. I immediately stepped back in, shut the door... After a few seconds had passed, I opened it again, peeped out, and just caught a PSW scurrying down the hall before turning out of sight for the elevators.

The second time was just now! Laying on our kids' couch right by the door, reading a book, and I suddenly catch this overwhelming stench of women's perfume. III cannot stand the smell of perfume, gives me a headache, so after a minute of it lingering, I finally whipped open the door. This one wasn't a PSW, she was a customer of our neighbors (drugs, junkie)! Dumb bitch tried acting like she was just headed for the stairs -- in a frenzy, at that! 🥴

So again, I am a very self-aware person, I understand we shouldn't be living here in the first place, I know that you can hear our children from out in the hall. But what the absolute fuck y'all. 22 floors and no one can find anyone else to bother? Big world, 7 billion people -- and I have literally heard Hitler speeches from one of the rooms on our floor! Like, that's not entertaining enough?!

Like, if I could ignore it, I would, but I can't. I literally cannot experience peace in my own (mother-in-law's) fucking apartment. Multiple times a week I pick up on the heart-pounding vibes; it's gotten to the point where I want to install a door camera.

I know it's not in my head, you always trust your gut. Human beings literally developed a sixth sense while we were predators in the hunter-gatherer era. People go out into the middle of the woods, in the dead of night, with no one else around, and will still claim that someone was watching them.

Shit doesn't happen for no reason. Always trust your gut.