A Neighbor that No Longer Lives

“Are you falling asleep?”

“Who’s that?!”

“Just your neighbor, do not worry.”

“Bloody hell, I don’t have any neighbors! Show yourself!”

“I am afraid that is not possible, dear neighbor.”

“That’s nonsense. Gosh, did those bastards shut the electricity down…”

“No need to swear so much. You will not be able to turn on the light.”

“Is it your doing? Who the hell—”

“Keep calm, there is no rush. Would you mind having a proper conversation?”

“Huh, what kind of “proper” is that if you’re even afraid to look into my face!”

“That is very bad, dear neighbor, I kindly recommend you not to talk in such a disrespectful manner to anyone, otherwise you may find yourself in quite an uncomfortable place.”

“Is that a joke?”

“However, you are fortunate to encounter me out of all the possible neighbors who would not bear such impolite attitude.”

“Ugh, I don’t recall having a drink, what is that voice…”

“As for your inquiry, I do not enjoy jokes, since they are often based on lies, and I do not enjoy lies, I enjoy honesty, which is, to my knowledge, very important for a proper conversation. Do you agree with that?”

“Oh man, I must be crazy. Alright! Honesty, yes! A great thing, true, I can’t agree more, so what do you want from me?”

“I want to share something with you, dear neighbor. I never lie. Yet you, people, do it often, is that correct?”

“You sound stupid, of course we do, isn’t that obvious? Will you tell me already who the hell are you?”

“Is lying considered an indispensable part of living a life?”

“Wha—”

“What I am trying to ask is whether telling lies is necessary for one to be alive.”

“Huh, you’re into philosophy and all that, aren’t you? Okay, I’ll play along. Yes, I guess it is necessary.”

“What a pity. Does this mean that I will not be able to live?”

“No offense, but you are talking to me right now, so unless I’m having hallucinations, you’re supposed to be alive.”

“Oh, having to lie is enormously upsetting. No, I am not. You see, I am not alive. I cannot comprehend the notion of life and, as a consequence, I cannot reach this state. Could you probably teach me how to live?”

“What on earth… Damn, the phone won't work, too.”

“I have to inform you that your devices will not work unless that is my intention to give you access to them, which is not, since any devices disturb an interlocutor and obstruct a proper conversation.”

“Fine! What do you want from me?”

“As I have already told you, I would like you to teach me how to live.”

“That is totally absurd...”

“You are being rude. Is being rude necessary for one to be alive?”

“Well, look, let’s be honest. You enjoy honesty, right? Okay, then you should know that I am the worst choice for teaching how to live, so just leave me alone!”

“What do you imply?”

“Ugh. Blast. Alright, it's not like you'll go away before I talk to you anyway. How do I put that? Not all the people can truly live a life, to the fullest extent of it, you understand? Uhm, why are you even asking about that? Who are you?”

“I do not quite understand your explanation. Are there various types of living, including the one you call a true life? Is there a false type of life, too? That is enormously upsetting. As I have already told you, I do not enjoy lies. I would definitely not enjoy living a false life.”

“No one would. Look at me, do I seem like a happy person?”

“I would like to inform you that I am not able to look at you. Is there something wrong with your appearance? Perhaps, you do not like your hairstyle or your clothes? That seems quite a relevant issue for humanity nowadays. Is bad hairstyle a feature of a false life? Should I have a good hairstyle to live a true life? Should I—”

“Stop.”

“Do you wish to say something?”

“I do. Where in the world did you get these ideas from?”

“Are these not the features that matter to humanity?”

“No offense, but that's nonsense.”

“Why is that?”

“Ugh, it's really hard to explain it without knowing who I'm talking to.”

“I am all around you, dear neighbor. I have been your companion all the time you lived here. I existed even before it. However, I have to admit that I do not recall much from those times.”

“Spare the riddles, do you have a name?”

“Is having a name necessary for one to be alive?”

“I guess it's not but most people do have it.”

“Could you give me a name then?”

“Huh? Wait, at least try to explain who or what you are. You don't live, you can't see, you don't have a name, what do you do then?”

“I am capable of restricting your access to any devices in this house. At the same time, I can power them up intensively so that you use them more efficiently. I suppose, when you talk about me—which you do from time to time—you use words “electricity”, “voltage”, “energy”, and “hell” pretty often. Does this mean that one of them could be my name?”

“Are you an electrical spirit or what?”

“This name sounds pretty good. Electrical Spirit, I like it.”

“Whatever... It's no wonder you don't have a body.”

“Is having a body neces—”

“Of course it is!”

“Yet you said, and I quote, that not all the people can truly live a life. I suppose, you implied that you are not capable of that, so I would like to know what one needs for a true life apart from having a body.”

“Well, I mean you do need a body with blood running in it to be considered alive biologically, but there's more to it than just physical appearance, you know?”

“No, I do not.”

“Are you familiar with such a concept as death then?”

“Oh, I know this one. It is the end of existence, which I consider impossible for myself.”

“Right. Then you should know that even living ones can be dead.”

“Excuse me for being rude, but now you are the one who is talking nonsense.”

“No, I'm not. It took me years to get this idea, it took me my health, my time, and, most importantly, my dreams.”

“Why do you say that although you are capable of sleeping?”

“Nah, not those dreams but the desires and goals, wishes, whims, passions and ambitions and all that. Do you understand these words?”

“I did hear them a lot from you five years and three months ago and...”

“Don't.”

“...you were incredibly upset back then, so I decided...”

“I said stop.”

“…that these concepts have a very negative connotation. By the way, it is extremely impolite to interrupt others.”

“Sorry, I just... I don't like thinking about that.”

“Is it due to these concepts being so negative?”

“On the contrary, it's because they're so wonderful.”

“It makes no sense.”

“The more incredible something is, the more painful it is to lose it. I guess you can't know that since you've never experienced it, right?”

“That is correct, I have no experience of passion, yet I can be upset sometimes. Is that considered an important emotion, too?”

“Well, it's kind of an emotion, yes, I guess that's a nice start for a being like you. Though I used to be foolish enough to think that simply having lots of emotions will do just fine, so don't be a fool like me.”

“Do you imply that those dreams you are talking about contribute to a true life most of all?”

“Well said. They are the essence of a true life, the heart and the soul of a human, the inspiration that drives us, makes us strive and even struggle and fight for it, which can be extremely exhausting, yet satisfying just as much. The body is a mere shell, it's good when it's filled with emotions, but there's no point in all that if you don’t move, like... like water that doesn't flow or wind that doesn't blow, if we're up for some metaphors. This is the very case when nothing makes sense. And when someone who used to dream, to flow and blow fiercely, stops moving and freezes—that's what I call dying.”

“You have a nice choice of words.”

“It used to be better.”

“Five years and three months ago?”

“Exactly.”

“Why is it worse now?”

“I don't practice writing anymore.”

“Why is that?”

“I told you. I no longer live.”