The story of the two years I lived in an apartment where someone would enter the toilet in my room

Sometimes I wonder if it was all just a hallucination.
But I definitely lived in that room for two years.
When I visited after a long time, that building in Shimokitazawa had already been demolished.

The apartment in Shimokitazawa where I lived during my student days was a building with a strange structure.
It was a renovated house with two rental rooms on the first floor and two on the second.

That part is common enough.
What was strange was the toilet.

The studio apartment I rented on the first floor was about six tatami mats in size.
There was no shower room, but the room did have a toilet.
This toilet was a "shared toilet" used jointly with the neighbor.

My room and the room next door were connected by the toilet.

I don't think you'll understand what I'm saying, but first, please take a look at this diagram.

My room was on the first floor facing the road.
The toilet for this room was located between my room and the neighbor's, and it was designed to be accessible from both my room and the neighbor's room.

The toilet had two doors.
Each door was exclusive to its respective room and had an outer lock and an inner lock.

If you opened the door from my room, you would be on the left side of the toilet bowl.
If you opened the door from the neighbor's room, you would be facing the front of the toilet bowl.

To use this toilet, there was a special etiquette as follows.

1. First, knock on the toilet door
*The neighbor might be using it

2. If there is no sign of anyone inside, unlock the outer lock of the toilet
*The door has an outer lock and an inner lock

3. Once inside, lock the inner lock on the neighbor's room side
*Since it is a Japanese-style squat toilet, if you forget this, the door behind you might be opened suddenly while you are squatting

4. Do your business while praying, "Please don't let anyone knock".

5. Once you are finished, unlock the inner lock on the neighbor's room side
*If you forget this, the neighbor will not be able to use the toilet from their own room

6. Once you leave the toilet, lock it from the outside
*If you forget this, the neighbor can enter through the toilet

Of course, the neighbor also followed this etiquette, but why did I have to be so careful just to use the toilet in my own room?

But that wasn't the only problem.

The biggest problem that bewildered me as a student was that "the neighbor sharing this toilet was an office lady who had just started working" (according to the landlord).

There was no room for a diary exchange using toilet paper.
I was incredibly embarrassed to share a toilet with a woman.
Of course, I'm sure she hated it even more.

Even though this toilet was part of my room, it was also part of the neighbor's room, so every time I entered the toilet, I felt like..."a creepy guy sneaking into the neighbor's room and lurking in the toilet."
Guilt, immorality, and the fear that "the door behind me might open."

Of course, there was no way a toilet like this was soundproof.

Since the wooden door let sound through easily, when I heard the voices of women chatting from the neighbor's door side while I was squatting on the toilet, my tension would peak instantly, and I would pray harder, "God! Please don't let anyone come!"God! Please don't let anyone come!If a "pfft" sound leaked out in such a situation, and at the same time the lively conversation next door fell silent...

I trembled just thinking about it.
I was about to make a sound just from trembling.


I think the reason why my wishes don't come true much in my later life is because I used up most of my prayer power at this time.I should have used it for something else.

During the day on weekdays, the neighbor is at work, so I feel at ease.
But the toilet at night is a place filled with tension.
I take a deep breath in front of the door.
I have to do my business like a ninja, as quietly as possible, without making a sound.

There were still more problems.

Sometimes the neighbor would forget to unlock the inner lock on my room side after she used the toilet.

When that happened, I would fall into the unreasonable situation of being "locked out of the toilet in my own room".

I couldn't get into the toilet in my own room.

If this happened in the middle of the night after I had changed into my pajamas and thought, "I'll go to the toilet before I go to sleep," the misery was immeasurable.

I couldn't exactly shout to my neighbor, "Please unlock the toilet!", so I would silently change my clothes, dash to the late-night arcade 100 meters away, rush into the toilet, and once I was done, I would take out my frustration on the punching machine.

It's tough when you have an upset stomach and need to go to the toilet frequently.
It makes me angry! Or rather, my stomach hurts!!

Why do I have to run 100 meters away multiple times in a desperate state when I have a toilet in my own room!

Why?! Is this what life is? God!!

At times like that, a punching bag wasn't enough, so I would kick the utility poles lining the street between the arcade and my apartment, turning into a "rampaging lone rioter", running through the night streets while howling.

Once, when I went into the bathroom, the door to the next room was wide open, and I was stunned.

Just by entering the bathroom in my own room, I was in a situation that felt like trespassing.

Is this some kind of "Anywhere Door from Hell"?

A room completely exposed, even though I had no desire to see it.

The image of myself getting arrested flashed through my mind.

In a panic, I mustered up my remaining prayer power, whispering, "Please, I hope they don't notice," and reached out to gently close the door to the next room.
I couldn't tell from the angle of the bathroom whether the neighbor was there or not.

But if I didn't close it, it wouldn't just end with a trespassing charge.
On top of putting on a humiliating show that nobody wanted, I'd also be charged with public indecency.

This is too much! Is it a sin to use the bathroom? Is this hell?

My prayer power was running out...
I thought I was going to die.

But you know, it was still better because there were only two doors.
If this had been a shared bathroom for four rooms, I think I would have exceeded my limits.
Every day would be a panic, with no time to rest.

Every time I went to the bathroom, I would have to lock the other three doors one by one.

While I was locking them in order, another door would open and someone would walk in. I'd think, "Eek!" and frantically push them back out the door. Just as I managed to push them back, another door would open and someone else would walk in. Thinking, "Give me a break!" I'd push that one out with all my might. Another door would start to open, so I'd kick it to slam it shut.

Just as I finally pushed everyone out and felt relieved, the ceiling suddenly popped open.

I looked up, thinking, "What the?!" and a rope dangled down.
The resident from the second floor was trying to climb down into the bathroom using the rope.

My patience and anger reached their limit, and I climbed up the rope to complain.
The distance to the second floor was surprisingly long, but I gripped the rope tightly and climbed up for dear life.

Just as I was about to reach the second floor, I looked down and saw thatthe guys from the other rooms were also starting to climb up the rope.

I shouted at the top of my lungs, "Hey! This rope is mine. It's going to snap! Don't come up here!"

At that moment,the rope snapped, and I fell headlong...

"God is doing this on purpose to be mean, isn't he?" by Kandata