[YES]Can you identify this short story?

[twoturntwo]

Hi all!

I'm trying to rediscover a short story I found on Librivox a while back. It was around 10 to 20 minutes long and was included in one of the collections of stories (short stories collection, coffee break collection, something like that). I believe the story ran something like this: A man who fancied himself upper class became enamored with the woman who lived in the apartment next door. She was not of his class. She may have been the maid in the building, although if she were the maid, why would she be living next door, I don't know. At night, he would tap on the wall that separated their apartments and she would tap back. He would never approach her outside the apartment for fear he would be spotted with her. At some point, he decides that although he loves her, she is just too low for a man of his class to carry on with. He stops answering her taps on the wall. For three nights she raps on the wall but he will not reply. The knocks stop. After a few days, the man learns from someone else in the building that the woman became very sick in bed those three night and died. The man is heartbroken.

Does that ring a bell for anyone?

Joe

[m8b1]

Well, I have never read or listened to it, but googling the main points of your summary, it seems as though it is very likely "Beyond the Wall" by Ambrose Bierce.

There are two versions of it on Librivox. You can find it in these two collections:
https://librivox.org/short-ghost-and-horror-collection-023-by-various/
https://librivox.org/short-ghost-and-horror-collection-029/

[twoturntwo]

Wow! Thank you very much, Maria! You found it! I thought I did my due diligence on Google and even spent an hour checking story titles in various Librivox short story collections but I just could not find it. I'm now listening to the Chiquito Crasto version in Short Ghost and Horror Collection 23. Fantastic!

Joe

[m8b1]

Glad to help!