The sound follows me down the stairwell, echoing off Victorian brick like the building's calling after me.Don't leave us alone with this.
Outside, London reasserts its normalcy. Double-decker buses lumber past belching exhaust. Schoolchildren argue about football. A cyclist in lycra weaves through traffic with the confidence of someone who's never met mortality.
I walk fast, heels clicking against pavement in a rhythm that doesn't quite match my heartbeat. Three blocks south, past the newsagent where I buy emergency chocolate, past the pub that's changed names four times since I moved here but still serves the same disappointing fish and chips.
Harrington Property Management occupies a ground-floor office that's trying too hard to look professional. Glass frontage, minimalist signage, reception desk that probably cost more than my monthly rent. A young woman with perfectly straightened hair types at a computer, her nails clicking against keys like tiny castanets.
"Excuse me." I approach the desk. "I need to file a noise complaint for 847 Oak Street."
She looks up with the expression of someone who's had this conversation twelve times already today.
"Name?"
"Maya Ruiz. Flat 4C."
Clicking sounds as she pulls up my file. "What kind of noise complaint?"
"There's a sound. A thumping. It's been going on for hours, coming from inside the building structure. Very loud, very regular."
"Mm-hmm." She's not actually listening. Her eyes stay focused on the computer screen. "Is it a neighbor? Music, television, domestic disturbance?"
"No, it's not a neighbor. It's coming from the walls themselves."
"Right." More clicking. "Any idea which neighbor might be causing the disturbance?"
We're not communicating.I take a breath, try again.
"It's not a neighbor. It's structural. The entire building's making this sound."
"I see." She opens a desk drawer, pulls out a photocopied form. "You'll want to fill out a tenant dispute resolution request."
The form's title reads:NEIGHBOR NOISE COMPLAINT - RESIDENTIAL DISPUTES.
"This isn't about neighbors. This is about the building itself making unexplained noises."
"All noise complaints go through the same process." She slides the form across the desk with the enthusiasm of someone explaining why water is wet. "Fill this out, return it within five business days, and we'll schedule a mediation session."
"Mediation with who? The building?"
"With the parties involved in the dispute."
I read the form. It asks for names, flat numbers, descriptions of specific incidents. There's a section forPreferred Resolution Outcomesand another forPrevious Attempts at Communication.
"This doesn't apply to my situation."
"It's the standard form for all residential complaints."
"But what if the complaint isn't about residents?"
"Then you'd file a maintenance request."
Progress. Finally.
"Perfect. I'd like to file a maintenance request."
"For what type of maintenance?"
"The mysterious thumping sounds coming from inside the building."
