House No. 3: Ulysses Complex

Art by Andrew Mercator

## Content Warnings

* Existentialism
* Ringing sfx

Existence is exactly what you think it is.

## Episode Summary

### Intro

The listener is once again greeted by The Narrator, who is introducing the inhabitor of House No. 3. Nobody apparently has lived in Little Street ever since it first came to be when the single houses began forming a neighbourhood.

### House No. 3

#### Appearance

House No. 3 is not described in any great detail like the other houses on Little Street, though it is said to be as old as the street itself. The Narrator says that the owner of this house has watched all the renovations and remodeling that have happened on Little Street over the years, implying that Nobody has not done any renovations to House No. 3, most likely leaving it in a state of disrepair. ￼

#### Story

As the Narrator describes this is somewhat of a "day in the life" story, following the owner of house No. 3, Nobody, through his daily routine. The owner of this house is called Nobody. Nobody has a very strict routine that he becomes distressed of the routine is broken. ￼

Nobody awakes and dresses, eating the same breakfast he eats every day which is beans on toast, then he leaves the plate on the windowsill for any creatures who might what his scraps. Then Nobody begins to prepare for his weekly visit with the resident of house No. 15. Nobody attempts to call house No. 15 in order to confirm that his visit will be a delight and not a nuisance, but this is hard as house No. 15 rarely has the same phone number twice, if any at all.

Nobody often brings tea to house No. 15 to "sweeten the deal", he also goes to Ciara, to get pastries. He dials the last known number of house No. 15, and before this he shows another one of his odd habits by running his finger from tip to tragus and then tapping three times. It takes Nobody several times to reach house No. 15, in this process he reaches Cathy from house No. 4. Nobody gets a shiver down his spine, a feeling he gets often, though this time as he goes to hang up the phone Cathy responds and offers to look up the number, which catches him off guard, but he responds politely none the less.

Nobody does not end up calling No. 15 and leaves the house. As he leaves, he sees birds and salamanders which appear to be fighting. He walks to the strip of stores that serve the neighbourhood, they are empty which is how he likes it, as he does not enjoy being seen by others. Nobody enters the bakery and is startled to discover that Ciara notices his existence. This has never happened before and leaves Nobody very upset at the fact that his routine has been disrupted once again. The Narrator confirms that Nobody is not antisocial, that he is just used to his routine and having it interrupted frightens him and throws him off. Nobody has a brief conversation with Ciara which he finds very strange, though he is content with the newfound differentness.

Nobody leaves the bakery as Ciara goes back to fetch the croissants before they burn. He leaves two neat piles of coins on the counter as he leaves without another word to Ciara. He walks home in the rain and calls house No. 15 once again. The Narrator tells us that after a few weeks Nobody will become nobody once again as the residents of Little Street only know the world as they perceive it and know nothing else, and they all know nobody lives in house No. 3.

## References to this Episode

* While not directly a reference, this episode provides the listener with further information about Little Street and The Narrator, who states that "Nobody remembers how Little Street came to be Little Street. I can only hope that Nobody has forgotten why.", alluding to a possibly unsettling beginning of Little Street that The Narrator was involved in.
* Nobody calls Cathy of House No. 4 while trying to reach House No. 15
* In House No. 12: The Secret Society, Steven eats what are likely the cake crumbs which Nobody leaves out on his windowsill.
* In House No. 15: Metamorphoses, its inhabitant chats with Nobody on the phone.

## After Credits Bit:

Today’s junk mail comes from the funeral home three streets over. The envelope is embossed with a stamp that reads ‘we kill because we care!’ Best to throw that one in the recycling bin unread, I think.