The backyard had a beautiful little lake that we would get to share access to with our neighbors. Austin and Sheldon could hardly contain their excitement about all the fishing and boating they were going to do.”Mom, can we get a canoe? Please, please, please?” they begged. I laughed and said, “Of course, as soon as we’re all settled in!” The first few weeks were blissful. The kids spent hours out by the lake, catching frogs and just enjoying the fresh air. That’s when we met Oswald and Patricia, our next-door neighbors. They had disdain in their eyes from the moment we introduced ourselves. It seemed like they weren’t too happy about having us as their neighbors.”So you’re the ones hogging our lake, huh?” Oswald grumbled. I was taken aback.”Your lake? But the realtor said we all shared access to it.” “Well, she didn’t tell you the whole story, did she? This lake is ours, and we don’t appreciate you letting your brats play in it all day long.” Brats? Did he just call my kids brats? I thought. How dare he? I tried to reason with him, explaining that the kids were being respectful and not causing any trouble.But Oswald and his wife just glared at me. “We want them to stay off our property. If we see them out there again, there will be consequences.”With that, they stormed back into their house, leaving me fuming. At that point, I knew I had to have a talk with the kids. “Guys, I know how much you love the lake, but it seems our neighbors have an issue with us using it. So, for now, I need you to stay away from that area of the backyard, okay?””But Mom, we were gonna go fishing tomorrow!” Austin complained. “That’s not fair.” Sheldon chimed in, “Yeah, why do they get to decide if we can use the lake or not? It’s not just theirs!” “I know, sweetie, I know,” I sighed. “But we have to pick our battles. Let’s just give them some space for now, and hopefully, they’ll come around.”The kids reluctantly agreed, but I could tell they were crushed. Still, they tried their best to stay away from the lake area.A few days later, I was out hanging laundry when I heard Oswald yelling again. The kids had taken the canoe out, and he was screaming at them to get off his property. I rushed over and tried to explain that they were in the water, not on his land. But he wouldn’t listen. “I don’t care, keep them away from my lake!” he shouted, storming back inside. The kids came back to shore and I felt so heartbroken to see tears in their eyes.”Mom, why does he hate us so much?” Austin asked. I was silent. I didn’t have a good answer. The final straw came a couple days later. The kids had decided to go fishing, and I figured I’d let them since they’d been so good about staying away from the lake. But as soon as they got their rods out, here comes Oswald again. “That’s it, I’ve had it with you polluting my lake! Do you have any idea how much environmental damage those hooks and lines can do?”Austin and Sheldon stood there, stunned. “But we’re just fishing, we’re not hurting anything!” Sheldon tried to explain. Oswald ignored him and continued his rant. “I want you and your brats to stay away from my lake, you hear me?!” With that, he stomped back inside. The kids were devastated. Again. The next day, I went out to hang more laundry and what do I see but a fence going up in the lake, dividing it right down the middle.I couldn’t believe Oswald had actually put up a barrier to keep the kids out. What was he thinking? Why did he think he owned that lake?I was furious. All I could think of was going to his house to talk to him. And that’s what I did. “Oswald, you can’t do this! That lake belongs to both of our properties,” I said. “Actually, I can. And I just did,” he smirked. “That lake is mine, and I’ll do whatever I want with it.””But what about my kids? They love playing out here, you can’t just take that away from them!” Oswald shrugged. “Not my problem. They need to find somewhere else to play.” Defeated, I went back inside. The kids were heartbroken when they saw the fence blocking off their beloved lake.”Mom, what are we going to do? We can’t even go fishing anymore!” Sheldon cried. Meanwhile, Austin just sat there silently, a single tear rolling down his cheek. I hated seeing them so upset, but I didn’t know what to do.Oswald was being completely unreasonable, and I was at a loss. A couple days later, I decided to take the kids to visit my sister for the night. I figured they could use a change of scenery, and maybe some time away would make Oswald and Patricia back off a bit. As we were driving back home the next evening, I noticed an excavator in our backyard.”What in the world…?” I muttered, pulling into the driveway.To my horror, the excavator was in the process of burying our half of the lake under a mountain of dirt. “No, no, no!” I cried, jumping out of the car. The kids followed, equally devastated. “Mom, they’re killing the fishies!” Austin wailed. At that point, I knew I had to stop this. I immediately stormed over to the workers. “What do you think you’re doing?! Get that thing out of my backyard right now!”One of the workers looked at me, unfazed.”Sorry ma’am, we’ve been hired to fill in this section of the lake. Not our call.” I whirled around to see Oswald standing there. “You!” I shouted. “How dare you do this? That’s our property, you can’t just destroy it!” “That’s your property but the lake belongs to me,” he smiled. “I’m just getting rid of it because it’s been nothing but a nuisance, lowering my property value.” I was seething. “You’re insane! This is illegal, you can’t just bulldoze our land.””Good luck proving that. I’ve got the proper permits, all above board.”I knew he was lying, and I wanted to teach him a lesson he wouldn’t forget. But before I could do anything, karma took its toll. As the excavator continued to bury the lake, suddenly the water level rapidly began rising on Oswald’s side. His entire backyard was flooded within minutes, and then the water began entering his house. “What the—?!” he shouted as he rushed inside. “Oswald, do something! Stop this! The water’s going to ruin everything,” Patricia yelled.I could see the workers looking at each other in panic. That’s when I understood it was their fault because they didn’t consider the water displacement. And I guess Oswald also realized it. “You idiots!” he yelled at the workers. “I’m not paying you a cent! Get out of here!” Karma had struck Oswald and Patricia right where it hurt. As they stood there, ankle-deep in water, I couldn’t help but feel a tinge of satisfaction. Once the workers were goneWithin a few days, the water was back to normal and the kids were out there fishing and playing to their hearts’ content. Oswald and Patricia? They had to move out for weeks to get their home repaired from the flooding. I’m just glad this whole saga is finally over. Sure, it was a headache dealing with those two, but in the end, good prevailed. The kids are back to loving their little slice of nature, and I couldn’t be happier.Sometimes, karma really does have a way of evening the score. Do you agree? If you enjoyed reading this story, here’s another one you might like: When my neighbor’s construction crew started using my driveway without permission, I thought I could handle it like a reasonable adult. But after weeks of frustration and disrespect, I realized it was time to teach Dave a lesson he’d never forget — one that would change our relationship forever.
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