The Walls Have Ears

Now, most stories happen in a large house that just looks like it's brimming with stories, such as Professor Kirke's house in Narnia. Others, in a place ordinary that turns extraordinary, like Dorothy's farmhouse. But driving by this apartment building, you'd never expect anything except the mundane. It's one floor with gray walls in the middle of a street with ordinary buildings in the middle of a city with ordinary buildings in the middle of a county with... You get the gist. My point is you could drive by Sonder Hall and, though you knew there were people in it with lives, you wouldn't really think of it and continue driving. As I said, you'd never expect anything except the mundane. But maybe there's a bit of beauty in that.

Mr. Doyle lives on the first floor alone. He's a middle school math teacher well into his seventies. Most see him as a cranky old man. But I know that he sometimes stays at school until late in the evenings so he can tutor and feed dinner to kids that wouldn't get it at home. His idea has spread to every school in the area, but he's not allowing anyone to put his name on it. He's currently trying to convince the school board to help him fund.

Tony is in his twenties and been caught for drug possession twice. But I know that he's quit cold turkey after his sister, Ann, had an almost lethal overdose. Ann doesn't live with him but he's visited her at the hospital every day. He volunteers with an anti-drug organization and has shared his story to dozens of kids, saving an unknown number of lives.

Mr. and Mrs. Terry are a newlywed couple. On the outside their relationship is perfect. But behind closed doors, the Mr. is verbally abusive and the Mrs. gets incredibly jealous whenever another woman is so much as mentioned. But neither acknowledge that anything is wrong.

Ms. Lee is a nurse that works long shifts to provide for her eight year old daughter, Emily. What she doesn't know is that Emily is a genius. But she's beginning to realize.

Last but not least is the landlord. Mr. Thomas is in his thirties and the latest in a long family line to own the building. His father brought him to the hotel every day when he was a kid and, upon young Thomas' insistence, showed him the ropes. When his father's health started to fail, Thomas started taking over and became the official manager last year after his father passed away from a heart attack. He helps all the people in the building in many ways, whether it's providing food for students, hosting substance abuse counseling meetings, notifying marriage counselors, or babysitting child geniuses. No one knows he does any of this. Well, no one except for me. He doesn't mind though.

As I said earlier, there's beauty in the mundane sometimes. And though I may not look like much, my people are wonderfully complex. I can't imagine being anything other than Sonder Hall.