The Unusual Tenant

                                    

                                          

A few years back, my sister stayed in a dormitory set up. According to Mom, this was done so that my sister can focus most of her free time studying. And while I was jealous of the fact that my sister got to stay in a dorm and I did not, I knew that it was for the best and that I had to think about how my sister felt. The very idea of being all by yourself and having to literally live on your own while you were studying can take a toll on one's psyche. Somehow, my sister managed. I would often ask her how her week was in the dorm.
"What I wouldn't give to just have a week away from my neighbors." She would say. 
"They can't be that annoying." I said. "Maybe they have the same sentiments as you do." 
"You should hear the stories they tell in the mess hall." My sister said. "There's this story that happened right on my floor. And if I'm being honest, it does scare me a bit."
The moment she said the word 'story', my ears perked up; intent on listening to her tale. She made herself a cup of hot cocoa and began her story. 
Tara's Aunt May had decided to start a business. 
Growing up, she knew that living in the city could be costly. Especially if people came from different places. So, she took out her late husband's insurance money and began construction on a five-story building that would house students and working professionals at affordable rates. And after 9 months of construction, the Silver House Apartment was finally opened. And to ensure that her dormitory was running smoothly, she hired Tara as the building manager. 
Tara's tasks as the building manager included issuing monthly rent dues, weekly maintenance inspections, various inquiries and enforcing her Aunt May's house rules. Like many apartment businesses, there were house rules and regulations that needed to be followed. It could be anything general like 'Please segregate your garbage properly.' or 'No loud music after 10pm.' or even 'Curfew is at 12 midnight.' Aunt May's house rules were very much like those exampled. Except, she had one rule in which was quite particular with. And it was this.
DO NOT MAKE YOUR NEIGHBORS UNCOMFORTABLE.
It was her way of ensuring that all her tenants lived harmoniously with one another. Any tenant violating said rule was immediately evicted by Aunt May, no questions or explanation needed. And as far as Tara was concerned, all of her tenants abided by that.
On one particularly rainy day, while Tara was sitting at the front desk watching a video on her laptop, the front door opened and a tall woman walked in, completely drenched from head to toe and carrying a large rucksack. She made her way to the front desk and Tara immediately set about to entertaining her.
"Welcome to the Silver House Apartments." She said. "Oh my, you looked drenched. Can I get you some dry towels and something warm perhaps?"
The tall woman nodded and Tara went to the back room. A few minutes later , she emerged carrying a cup of hot tea and a dry towel. She handed it to the tall woman and while the tall woman was drying herself up and drinking the tea, she asked Tara if there was a room for backpackers available.
"We have a lot of rooms." Tara said as she checked the list on her laptop. "Do you want to have a shared room or an individual room?" She asked. 
"I want my own room." The woman said.
"Well, It's gonna be Php 830 a night and we have a minimum three weeks stay. Otherwise it will be Php 950 a night." Tara said. The woman unslung her rucksack and began to rummage through its contents. She reached into her drenched pockets and pulled out several crumpled Php 1000 bills and  placed it on the counter top.