It's a shame you can't choose your neighbors. It's just a kind of punishment when relationships between people who live so close together aren't working out.
We moved into this apartment over five years ago — we managed to get a mortgage with a good interest rate. Gradually we settled in, and this year we reached the vestibule, a common space at the entrance for two apartments: ours and the neighbors. And we have a lonely older woman, Wanda, as a neighbor. You couldn't find a more harmful and greedy person!
When we first planned to make a vestibule, of course we suggested that she replace the entrance door. It was clear that we were not going to install any luxurious or armored ones – for safety reasons we had already installed good steel doors in our apartment. And my husband wanted to buy the simplest, cheapest wooden doors for the vestibule. However, Wanda did not want to give up: “I do not need such doors. If you want, install them at your own expense!” – she threw in my face when I started talking about it. Then we realized that if we wanted to live like people, we would have to cover all the costs.
And now we started to refresh the vestibule. Before, we only had a sled, a bike and a shelf for various things. We took the sled and the bike to the garage, and I came up with an idea. I decided to move our couch from the hallway here – the velvet was a bit worn out. I'll also put a piece of carpet, put a few potted plants on the shelf and it'll be cozy. When I was doing the hallway on my day off, my neighbor was just coming back from the store.
Wanda greeted me glumly and slipped into her apartment without even telling me. But she will also use this space. The beauty I created was appreciated by my friend Ola, who recently came to visit: “Gosia, you had a good idea with the sofa in the hallway! When there are a lot of guests, you can go out, put on your shoes and sit on it.” I was happy too. Yesterday I took a day off in the middle of the work week to do a lot of things – not putting them off until the holidays.
In the afternoon, when I was cleaning the hallway, I heard some voices in our hallway. I looked through the peephole and saw my neighbor and a woman and a man I didn't recognize. The man was trying to move the couch away from the wall. I opened the door abruptly and asked: “Excuse me, what's going on here?”
Wanda's face stretched – she clearly didn't expect to see me. The young woman said:
-Good morning. Don't worry, we just came to take your neighbor's couch.
-What? Where to take it? Are you crazy? It's not hers, it's our couch! – I was outraged. The man dropped the end of the couch he was trying to move with a bang.
-Don't listen to her! The money has been paid, take the couch! She put it in the hallway, so she doesn't need the couch anymore!
My blood pressure jumped from nerves, I swayed slightly on my feet and announced that no one would take anything from here that I put in.
Wanda kept shouting that normal owners don't put things in the hallway. That's why she thinks the couch is on common territory and she has the right to sell it. Luckily, the man wasn't going to be shy towards this impudent woman either and said he'd take the neighbor to the police if she didn't return the money.
With a look of wounded pride, the neighbor went to get her wallet and returned the money. What should I do now? I should chain all the furniture and objects in the hallway to the wall? This is the first time I've encountered such impudence. Neighbors like that could make you look for a new apartment!
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