The Apartment Across The Way -- Part Two

Part Two of our tale...

                The next day, Hamilton stopped at the liquor store on the way home from work to pick up a fifth of vodka. The week had drained him so he splurged on a bottle of Ketel One. When he arrived home he locked the door behind him and tossed his keys onto the side table. He filled a lowball glass with ice and poured a few ounces of vodka into the glass. The warm liquid knocked the edge from the ice, which settled into the glass with a rewarding crackle. He set it on the coffee table and turned the radiator knob on. He reached for the remote, but just as his hand touched the plastic, he saw something out of the corner of his eye.

                The light had returned, but in a different place. As you may remember, it had occupied the center-right window the previous evening, but tonight it had moved to the far left window. Hamilton was filled with curiosity. He had assumed that the building across the way, which appeared identical to his own, shared an identical floor plan. Working from this assumption, it followed that the light now occupied a different apartment. The light began its dance once more. Hamilton could not help but think there was something different this evening. The greenish hue from the previous evening was gone, replaced by a shade of electric blue.

                Hamilton sipped his vodka. It warmed the back of his throat, and carried warmth down to his belly. He returned his gaze to the dancing blue light. It reminded him of a pixie. The light lulled him into a trance, as it had the previous evening. He pulled back his visual focus, and the light blurred into tailed arcs. He sipped unconsciously. The scent of the vodka brought him back. He looked at his watch. Now, Hamilton normally arrived home at half past six o’clock, and he had done so on this particular evening. His watch read nine o’clock.

                Hamilton’s jaw dropped. He put his glass down on the table and stared at it, as if it would give him an answer as to the strange happenings of the last two evenings. Maybe it’s time to ease up on the sauce. I need to get out more. He looked back up at the window where the light had been. It was gone. This is getting weird. He pulled the curtain closed and turned on the television to remove his attention from the strange lights. Within a few minutes the noise from the television lulled him to sleep.

Part Three to come tomorrow.