What a beautiful grey color, I said about my neighbor's cat. ‘Are you blind? That cat is black! Go buy some glasses!’

A resident living on Javastraat frequently encountered a hostile neighbor who was perpetually irritable and prone to snapping at others. Whether it was a casual comment about the color of her cat or an observation about flies on a fence, the neighbor consistently reacted with anger and insults. The narrator spent weeks apologizing for these perceived slights, becoming accustomed to the woman's volatile nature while trying to maintain peace.

The dynamic shifted one afternoon when the narrator, exhausted after work, lost their patience with a group of cyclists blocking the street. After shouting in frustration, the neighbor suddenly appeared to criticize the narrator's lack of self-control. This ironic encounter, where the woman labeled the narrator as crazy for a single outburst, helped the narrator realize that their own behavior was far more reasonable than the neighbor's constant hostility. Ultimately, the narrator found comfort in the realization that they were not the problematic party in the neighborhood, despite the woman's persistent grumbling and disapproval.