fifth story walk-up.

Jakob, the bartender, said I should go. I trust Jakob’s judgement, so I paid, left the bar through the back exit, shut the door behind me, walked all of two steps to the right, got my keys out of my pocket and entered my building. The light comes on automatically in the staircase and I never miss touching the loose tile under the button for the buzzer, to the right, the buzzer you use when you leave the building. There are certain things I cannot not recall as I walk up first flight of stairs. I often wonder if those thoughts are haunting me or is it me taunting them not to ever abandon me. They clearly don’t fall for my bluff. Some landings miss a bulb from the light fixture on the ceiling. I used to replace them when I saw one was gone, but I guess someone was stealing them, so I stopped. Landings are confusing. They all look the the same and if your mind is on something else, you might get them mixed up very easily. Especially if they’re dark, when someone had stolen the bulb. My favourite was the landing with a bunch of flowers in a vase. Someone put them there last March. The super never removed them. My fifth story walk-up, and I never know what’s going to greet me as I reach my door.