Episode 1: The Neighbor Next Door
Sophia had lived in the off campus apartment for almost three years, yet Apartment 6 remained locked for most of that time. Whenever new students came asking if anyone lived there, the caretaker would simply say, “The owner hasn’t rented it out yet.”
By the first semester of her final year, that finally changed.
She was returning from lectures one Friday afternoon when she noticed a white Toyota Corolla parked neatly in front of Apartment 6. A few movers were carrying furniture inside while a young man stood nearby, checking that everything was arranged properly.
Sophia slowed her steps for a second before walking into her own apartment. She didn’t think much of him until her roommate, Chioma, peeped through the window.
“Our new neighbor isn’t bad looking,” she teased.
Sophia dropped her bag on the sofa and laughed. “You say that about every fine man you see.”
“I’m serious this time.”
Sophia walked over and took a quick look. The young man had already disappeared inside.
“Well, good for him,” she replied before heading to her room.
That should have been the end of it.
The following Monday, Sophia left for school a little earlier than usual because she had an eight o’clock lecture. She had barely locked the front door when Apartment 6 opened.
The young man stepped out in a neatly ironed blue shirt and black trousers. He locked his apartment, adjusted the laptop bag hanging over his shoulder, then looked up as their eyes met.
“Good morning.”
“Morning.”
His smile was brief but genuine.
He unlocked his car, drove out of the compound, and was gone before Sophia reached the gate.
For reasons she couldn’t explain, she smiled all the way to the bus stop.
The days passed quickly as final year refused to give anyone breathing space. Between project meetings, assignments, seminars and endless submissions, Sophia barely had enough time to rest.
Still, she somehow noticed that the young man kept a routine.
He left for work every weekday around the same time she left for school. Most evenings, he returned just before sunset, parked his car quietly and disappeared into his apartment after greeting anyone nearby.
He wasn’t unfriendly.
He simply wasn’t the type who lingered outside discussing football or politics with other tenants.
One evening, Sophia returned from campus carrying a pile of books that seemed heavier than usual. As she climbed the stairs, one of them slipped from her hand and landed on the floor.
Before she could bend to pick it up, someone reached for it.
“I think this belongs to you.”
She looked up.
It was him.
“Thank you.”
He glanced at the book cover and smiled. “Final year?”
Sophia sighed dramatically. “Unfortunately.”
He chuckled.
“I’ve heard that’s when sleep becomes a luxury.”
“It has completely disappeared.”
“I wish you the best.”
“Thank you.”
He handed her the book and continued upstairs without another word.
The conversation lasted less than a minute, yet Sophia replayed it several times that night.
A week later, she found herself glancing through the sitting room window just before leaving for school. Apartment 6 was still locked.
She frowned.
Why was she even checking?
Shaking the thought away, she grabbed her bag and left.
Halfway to the gate, she heard a car horn behind her.
She stepped aside.
It was him once again.
He slowed down slightly and lowered the window.
“Good morning.”
“Morning.”
He smiled again before driving off.
Sophia stood there watching the car disappear onto the main road.
She didn’t even know his name.
That evening, she casually asked the caretaker while signing for a courier package.
“The man in Apartment 6… is he new to Port Harcourt?”
The caretaker smiled.
“You mean Daniel?”
So his name was Daniel.
She repeated it quietly in her mind as she walked back upstairs.
Daniel.
It somehow suited him.
From that day, Sophia began noticing little things she had never cared about before. The sound of his car returning every evening, the light coming on in his sitting room after sunset, and the polite greetings they exchanged whenever their paths crossed.
She told herself it was nothing.
Just familiarity.
But familiarity has a strange way of becoming attachment when you see the same person almost every day.
One Saturday morning, Chioma caught Sophia standing by the window.
“Who are you looking for?”
“No one.”
Chioma walked over and looked outside.
The white Corolla had just entered the compound.
She slowly turned to Sophia with a mischievous smile.
“So… this is the ‘no one’ you’ve been checking for?”
Sophia laughed nervously and picked up the novel lying on the table.
“I just happened to be standing here.”
“Of course.”
Chioma laughed as she walked away.
Sophia waited until she was gone before looking through the window again.
Daniel was locking his car, completely unaware that someone on the first floor had begun looking forward to the few seconds she got to see him each day.
And somehow, without realizing it, those few seconds had quietly become the happiest part of Sophia’s final year.
