I used to live in a small apartment building downtown.
One of the reasons I had moved out was the bad neighborhood, and also there was this guy who happened to live in the same apartment above mine.
He was a disheveled looking man who mostly kept to himself.
Whenever I would see him, he'd quietly mutter to himself and quickly ascend the stairs.
And around midnight, however, there was a strange noise that began to get on my nerves.
It wasn't terribly loud, mind you, but I happened to be a very light sleeper, so it was difficult for me to sleep with those little bumping sounds going on and on.
It almost reminded me of high heels walking about, but not as loud, as if the person causing the noise was actually attempting to be somewhat silent.
After a few days of this, I realized that it was a pattern, like a recording played over and over again.
That continued for the better part of the year, always the same sounds, always at night.
Sometimes the sound would only resonate for a few moments; other times it would go on the entire night.
Eventually I moved out and onto better surroundings.
It was only several years later, after helping my daughter with her homework, did I hear that sound again.
She knocked on the table with her knuckles and a shiver immediately went through my spine, as I recognized that exact pattern.
When I nervously asked her what she was tapping, she laughed at me.
"It's Morse code," she said. "It's the pattern to call for help."
我以前住在市中心的一幢小公寓楼里。
我搬出去的原因之一是附近环境不好，而且有个家伙正好住在我楼上的同一间公寓里。
他看上去邋里邋遢，很少与人交往。
每当我见到他，他就会悄悄地自言自语，然后迅速地爬上楼梯。
然而，到了半夜，有一种奇怪的声音开始让我心烦意乱。
那声音不是特别大，但我碰巧睡得很浅，所以那些小小的碰撞声不绝于耳，让我很难入睡。
这几乎让我想起了高跟鞋，但没有那么大声，就好像制造噪音的人实际上是在试图保持沉默。
这样过了几天后，我意识到这是一种模式，就像一遍又一遍地播放的录音。
在这一年的大部分时间里，这种声音一直持续着，总是同样的声音，总是在晚上。
有时声音只会产生几秒钟的共鸣;其他时候会持续一整晚。
最后我搬了出去，搬到了更好的环境。
几年后，在帮女儿做作业后，我又听到了那个声音。
她用指关节敲了敲桌子，当我认出她的动作时，我的脊背立刻打了个寒颤。
当我紧张地问她在敲什么时，她嘲笑我。
“这是莫尔斯电码，”她说。“这是寻求帮助的模式。”
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