Malicious Compliance

There's nothing like an epic fall from grace.

Relationship: over.
Career: trashed.
Home: lost.

And somehow, it gets worse when I move into a run-down apartment with a neighbor who's made it his mission to make my life a living hell. Reeling from my tragic breakup, all I want to do is collect the shattered pieces of my life and put them back together in a shape I recognize, but it's hard to do that when the jerk next door is keeping me up all hours of the night.

Whatever he does with his loud woodworking tools, obnoxious nineties punk music, and his constant complaints about my working hours, sleep is now a fantasy. Where I once composed music, I now spend my nights entertaining myself with visions of revenge.

But as the war between us continues, things start to shift, and I come to realize our lives might not be that different after all. Where I once loathed the sound of him singing Sex Pistols and using his table saw, now I've come to crave it. And I'm starting to think that maybe a faceless stranger I've never met might be the key to finding the man I'd lost the day I met my ex.

I'm not sure if the universe has any kindness in mind, but maybe during the holidays, I'll find my way to hope.