“Sean! Keep it down!” Rich, my neighbor from the other side, yelled and pounded on the wall. “That wasn’t me.” I went to my door. Rich came out too. “It sounded like Fran.” I saw Kara looking out her door. “Go back inside,” I told her. “You too,” I added to a woman down the hall. I knocked on Fran’s door. “Mrs. Massey?” I called out. There was no answer. “Mrs. Massey,” I yelled louder. I couldn’t hear her. Fran Massey was an older widow who probably shouldn’t be living alone anymore. Most of us tried to look after her. I glanced at Rich. “Should we go in?” “She might be hurt. Is it locked?” “That’s not a problem.” I cast a spell to open the locks. “You can just open any of our doors?” “Like you didn’t already think that. You probably think I can walk through walls or materialize into any room.” “Can you?” “I’m not a ghost. I’m flesh and blood, like you. I don’t just randomly go into people’s apartments. That’s breaking and entering. I’d end up in much worse than jail.” “Mrs. Massey?” I called through the open door. “Fran? It’s Sean and Rich, we’re coming in.” I thought I heard a whimper. I glanced at Rich, who nodded. Carefully, we made our way into the apartment and back to the bedroom. We found Fran pressed up against the far wall looking paler than I am. She shushed us and pointed to a dresser near the door. “In here?” I whispered, gesturing to the dresser. “Under it.” I slid the dresser away from the wall, and a mouse ran out, into the closet. Fran screamed again. I followed the rodent into the closet to see it scurry into a shoe. I grabbed the shoe and started talking to the mouse. I’d never been good with animal talk, but I might get it to leave. Soon it crawled out onto my hand. “Kill it,” Fran insisted. “I told it I wouldn’t if it left. It doesn’t understand why you’re so loud. It’s terrified. I’ll take it outside and will try to get it to show me how it got in so we can tell the landlord. But it is just a mouse. It might not remember.” “Thank you.” She led us back to the hall. “If you see any more mice, come get me,” I offered. She nodded, still eyeing the mouse. I wasn’t sure if she heard me, but the place wasn’t prone to rodents. “Thanks,” Rich said as he returned to his apartment. I nodded a greeting to his wife inside. Outside, I spoke again to the mouse, but it didn’t listen. It took off as soon as I stooped to the ground. Being carried down two flights of stairs was too much for it. Kara was peeking out her door again. “Thanks,” she said. “Anytime. Goodnight.” Back in my apartment, I poured myself a glass of elven wine. There had been a time when catching mice would have been considered beneath me. I don’t mind helping. I don’t like feeling obligated to. Of all the people on the floor, only Kara and Fran were never bothered by me not being human. I’m not even sure Fran realizes I’m an elf. She’s made comments about my pale skin and my height but never my ears or eyes. The others had viewed me with suspicion or hostility. Some had protested me being there. Fortunately, kicking me out because I was an elf was a violation of the equal housing act, at least according to the landlord. Most on the floor now accept me warily. I do everything I can to encourage that acceptance. I don’t know what I’d do if I couldn’t make this work. It was the first time I’d lived among humans as an elf. I don’t know if I could go back to pretending to be human. After work the next day, I went to The Blue Rose, a bar near my apartment. The bartender saw me. “No, absolutely not,” she insisted.