Writing Prompt

They talk

And oh crap,

It’s me.

They’re complaining again.

All I can do is listen in.

Their voices beckon

My sensitive ears

Towards the door of the attic.

I tiptoe, then attack.

I will not be the subject of petty gossip....

Moving into a new flat is always an interesting experience, you don’t know what the previous owner left behind or what type of person lived there prior to you. However, this particular flat didn’t have any of those problems, the problem this flat has is that the walls are paper thin. You can hear everything your neighbours are doing and saying, they could be cooking a recipe in their kitchen and r...

I dragged a squeaky highlighter across my calendar, eyes focused and ears alert. A slow smile formed on my face as I listened to the new neighbors talk. They were planning a vacation to the Bahamas. Classy.

I scanned the list I’d copied with eager eyes, trying to see if I’d missed anything. They were leaving a key with another neighbor, (one who’s house I’d frequently gained access to) they’d be ...

The house is pretty run down, but it was cheap. Mum doesn’t approve of the area obviously, “to many crimes,” “you’ll get robbed.” Yes mum that’s kinda the point. Mum doesn’t know about my job, I doubt she’d be very happy to find out her youngest son in thief. Robbie the eldest is a neurosurgeon (whatever that is), Chris runs his own radio station and has thousands of regular listeners, and Mike (t...

I’m not actually Frank. I’m Francesca. But my customers call me Frank because my great-grandpa opened this place and passed it down to my grandpa, then my dad, then me. There were no sons to carry it on, so I did. Franks’s Diner, just outside Old City Philadelphia.

So many stories pass through my doors.

I get lots of the same customers. On Thursday the special is spanakopita with a Greek salad...

The front door banged open. With armfuls of groceries, Natty hurried inside and nudged the door closed with her right foot. Pyewacket threaded between her legs as she unloaded her milk, bread, and eggs.

“This isn’t helping me go faster,” Natty said as she took off her raincoat and searched her pockets and purse for her favorite scarf, a silk print of Klimt’s The Kiss. The Siamese caterwauled in c...

I think I’m really starting to hate this place. The first few days were ok, peaceful and calm. But recently I don’t know, my neighbor upstairs has this guest over since 3 days ago and they’re like parakeets, they don’t shut up. But I kind of don’t hate it because whatever it is that their planning sounds kinda fun. Except they’ve been training martial arts or fighting or something because eventual...

I was carrying the last box into my bedroom when I heard the footsteps from above my head. I'd heard the walls in these places were thin, but this took the mick. I could hear every thump, every bump. It was clear I wasn’t going to get any sleep that night.

As I was tucking myself into my new bed, I heard whispering coming from the room above me. Being the nosey Parker I am, I couldn't help, but ...

After losing my job I decided moving would be a better option for me, a small flat with bland white walls, and an unusual aroma. I slumped onto the dusty brown coach, and closed my eyes. I was nearly asleep when I began to hear clattering upstairs.

‘I just had to choose a flat with a rented out upstairs,’ I thought to myself, and I listened intently to the action upstairs.

“What if we just dum...

The first night in my new flat, I lay in my bed. I struggled to quiet my brain, and the thin walls around me didn’t help. I shuffled around and closed my eyes in the hope of relaxing, but it was in vain. My mattress was too springy, my pillow was lumpy.

I missed the soft chatter of my old roommates at night. I imagined I could hear them on the other side of the wall.

Wait. No, that wasn’t my ima...