Greetings!
One thing I can vouch for about myself is that I never have any problem with neighbors because I live my life carefully and mind how I relate with them to avoid issues. It's not about living a selfish life, no. I talk with everyone, laugh with everyone, but in all this, I maintain my boundaries.
My Compound, the Surroundings, and the Neighbors:
In my compound, there are just three major tenants, while there are four others occupying the shops attached to the building. None of the shop owners sleep there, except one who stays until midnight because of the kind of goods she sells.
Among the three major tenants, where I belong, we are all guys. Two of us are not married, while the other one is an elderly man who lives with his son. His wife used to stay with them, but she passed away. The elderly man is seen as the father of the compound, and we respect him a lot, especially because of how simple and trouble-free his life is.
You know, where guys live, there’s hardly any problem, and that’s how we’ve been living—no single issue. When there’s something to fix in the compound, we don’t stress about organizing it. The only challenge is that contributing money usually takes time and that's understandable.
But There’s a Problem:
We always have water issues, not from the three of us tenants but from the shop owners. The thing is, we don’t get electricity often to pump water, so we use a generator, which consumes fuel. Since my business, laundry, is located in the compound, I suffer the most from this problem.
Okay, the only generator in the compound is owned by me, which means I'm in charge of pumping water most of the time. I usually spend my own money and fuel to power the pump, and afterward, they come and fetch water without considering the cost. I’m not the type to go around asking for money for fuel or seeking contributions to buy it—no, I hate that because people often start to show attitudes. So, I let it be: if anyone feels like buying fuel to pump water when it's finished, they can do so, and if they don’t feel like it or don’t see anything wrong with not contributing, I let them be too.
So far, two of my co-tenants have been considerate enough to buy fuel whenever they feel like it, but the other neighbors—no way! They don’t bother. Once the water finishes in the tank, they’ll go to other neighboring compounds to beg and fetch water, and once I pump water, they’ll come quickly to fetch it, not feeling that what they’re doing is wrong. Human beings!
There Has Been Peace and No Trouble:
Aside from the water issue, which I’ve given less concern because I feel that as long as I have a generator to power the water, I won’t be seen outside begging other compounds for water, there hasn’t been any other problem. There have been no quarrels, and I’m always thankful to God because there’s no lady among us, which has helped maintain the peace.
Thanks for reading.
This is my entry to Hivenaija prompt of the week
Photos are mine