The Landlord
Nara shivered at her desk and rubbed her hands together, breathing into them. Her breath came out like a puff of smoke. She ran to her closet and pulled on a pair of gloves, only to hear her phone vibrating from her desk.
"How's it going up in NYC?" her mother's familiar line echoed from the other end.
"It's so gloomy. It's been an overcast, freezing day and I'm having to wear gloves right now to finish typing up my work," Nara said.
"The heat in your apartment is still out?" her mother nearly shrieked.
"It's still out," Nara said, heaving a huge sigh. "Day 2. I slept in heat tech leggings last night."
"What did the landlord say?"
"They had someone come by yesterday but they couldn't fix it, so he's on his way here from Florida as we speak."
"Oh, shit. Well maybe go to a coffee shop in the meantime and warm up while you work."
"I'm sick Mom, it's not that easy right now."
"Is it that bad?"
"I kind of have to be in my own house. The colitis symptoms aren't pretty." Nara glanced over at the slew of pill and supplement bottles on the kitchen counter. Nothing had helped so far. She'd spent thousands on doctor bills and prescriptions and her symptoms had still only gotten worse over time. Intense pain and blood were now a part of her daily routine. Her phone vibrated again. "Gotta go Mom, it's the landlord calling!"
"Hang in there! Love you."
Nara quickly switched over, eager to hear how the heater had been miraculously fixed and would begin working immediately.
"Hi, Jesus. What's the news?"
"I'm so sorry Nara. The guys don't know what's wrong with it. I'll be there soon to take a look. I'll knock on your door to give you updates."
"Great," Nara said, not bothering to hide her annoyance. She'd lived in New York for five years now and had had her fair share of awful landlords—there was the one who wouldn't do anything to fix problems around the apartment, the one who would creepily hit on her and invite her to his apartment for drinks, and another who'd tried to screw her out of thousands of dollars. She hadn't met this one yet, having only moved in a few months ago, and wasn't exactly excited for their first encounter. "Thanks," she said and hung up.
"Best January ever," Nara said to herself with a sigh. She went back to her computer to finish her work in the cold.
An hour later, a soft knock emanated from her front door. Nara rolled her eyes. Here we go, she thought. She shuffled to the door in her fuzzy slippers and opened it a crack. On the other side stood a sweet-looking man with wide eyes and a concerned look on his face.
"Hi, Nara. It's nice to meet you. I'm so sorry about this. I just took a look with the guy and we think maybe the heater needs a new part. It could be another day but I'm going to try and get it fixed tonight."
"When will you know?" Nara said, fighting the urge to groan.
"I'll tell you as soon as I know anything. We may need to come inside your apartment to check some things in here though."
This just kept getting better. "Fantastic," she said bitterly.
"I'm sorry," he said, and he looked like he truly meant it.
Nara nodded and before she could say any other rude comments, shut the door. Pain was rising in her stomach, and she could tell the colitis was about to take her out for a while. The last thing she wanted was someone knocking on her door at all hours, needing to come inside while her symptoms flared up.
The excruciating daily pain had caused her to have an edge lately—one that she wasn't used to in herself. It stole her joy and warmth, and after months and months of dealing with it, she was beginning to lose hope that she'd ever live without it again. The thought was terrifying, and her online searches for remedies led to little hope she'd ever have a full recovery. Depression had crept in, slowly leeching the light from her life and turning her into someone she barely recognized.
"We'll get it fixed soon!" Jesus' voice rang out from the other side of the door.
But she didn't believe him.
Later that evening, after workers had been in and out of her apartment twice—once while she was on a work call and once while she was writhing in pain from the colitis symptoms—Nara grudgingly put on her thermal tights and undershirt, sweater, gloves, and beanie, and crawled into bed. She carefully wrapped the sheets and comforter around her body, cocooning herself in enough warmth to sleep through the night.
Right when she got fully comfortable there was a knock at her door. Nara groaned, loud enough, she hoped, that Jesus would hear.
"I'm so sorry!" she heard him say through the door. She untangled herself from the sheets and went to the door.
"What." her voice was harsh and cutting.
"I brought you a space heater!" Jesus said. "I can set it up for you."
"No!" Nara snapped. "No one else in my apartment. I'll do it myself. This has been terrible, and I'm exhausted."
Jesus looked truly sorry.
"Thank you," she said, trying to remember that this wasn't his fault. "I'm sorry." She shut the door, cursing herself for shouting at him, the colitis for making her mean, and the damn heater for deciding to break during one of the coldest weeks they'd had all winter.
The next day, Nara swore to try and be nicer. She'd had a pain-free morning and was feeling somewhat hopeful as the sun came out and the space heater warmed her apartment to the point that she no longer had to wear gloves inside.
She took a walk around her block, taking in the beautiful Brooklyn brownstones and shops. She waved to the workers at her breakfast spot and stopped into her favorite bodega to pet their adorable cat named Tiger. A little bit of light was flowing back into her, to the point where a smile finally made its way to her face.
She stepped into the hallway that led to her apartment and found Jesus speaking furiously in Spanish on his phone. She couldn't understand all of it but she knew something was wrong.
She waited for him to hang up. "Are you okay?" she said.
He looked at her, seeming to judge how much he should tell her. She tried to give him what she thought was an encouraging smile.
"It's my wife," he said. "She has cancer and has to get surgery this week." He looked like he was on the verge of tears. "I'm scared." He paused and looked at her, the pain splitting his face open. "I'm scared it won't work."
Every ounce of anger, annoyance, and presumption she'd had or made about this man melted away. She saw her fear, her pain, and her uncertainty reflected in him.
"I'm so sorry," Nara said, gasping. Before she knew what she was doing, she hugged him. "It'll be okay," she said.
He hugged her back, his body sagging into her. He began to cry, and Nara's heart broke. "I hope so."
She continued to hold him as he cried. Tears dripped down her cheeks. How many times had she learned the lesson that you never know what someone else is going through? To be kind to others, since everyone is fighting a battle you know nothing about?
When he finally straightened up, Nara smiled at him. "Do you want to come inside for some tea?"
"Yes, thank you," he said with a small smile.
Nara put on the kettle while Jesus told her about his children, his wife, and their lives in Florida. He was kind, she realized. And earnest. She told him about her colitis, and how the pain made her feel depressed and hopeless. How it turned her mean sometimes.
"I'm sorry for not being welcoming in the beginning," she said.
"Oh no, I get it! And the heater is out. It's not easy," he said. "But I will get it fixed tomorrow. I promise."
And this time, she believed him.
One year later…
"Nara!" Jesus' voice rang out over the phone.
"Hi, Jesus!" she said, genuinely happy to hear from him.
"We're almost to the apartment, I can't wait for you to meet my wife, Aurora."
"I'm so excited," she said. "See you soon!"
Nara watched out the window as Jesus and his cute, petite wife stepped out of the car and up to the front door. Nara raced to it, a grin stretching across her face.
"You're here!" she said. "It's so great to finally meet you!"
Aurora opened her arms and pulled Nara into a hug. "I'm so happy to meet you. Jesus told me how kind you were to him during my surgery. We pray for you every night and hope that you get better."
"Well, it worked," Nara said. "I've been in remission for months now after I got exosome treatment!"
"That's wonderful news," Aurora said, smiling warmly at her.
"And I was so happy to hear your surgery was successful as well."
"Yes," Jesus said, beaming from behind her. "We are all healthy!"
“And the heater works!” Nara said, laughing.
Nara ushered them inside and put on the kettle, finally feeling like she had a home away from home.