Chapter 5 - The New Neighbor

another important character enters

 

One day she saw that the house next to hers had a new owner, another Fox, but he would disappear frequently for varying lengths of time, usually whenever Misha did anything public. He looked strangely familiar - Valerie thought she may have seen him before but couldn’t recall where. When she saw him walk his squirrels by the window one morning, she decided she should go outside and introduce herself to her new neighbor.

            As she stepped outside she smelt squirrel dung - the neighbor’s squirrels were defecating on her lawn. Their owner had his back to her. He was wearing sunglasses, a dark suit, a fedora, and a very expensive watch. Valerie walked up to him. “Excuse me, sir, your squirrels..”

            “Who are you?” he asked, looking down his nose at her.

            “I’m Valerie, your new neighbor. Nice to meet you,” she said, extending her paw, which he disregarded.

            “I’m Mishiko,” he said flatly before turning his back on her.

            “Excuse me? I’m trying to talk to you…”

            Mishiko pulled the squirrels off the lawn and left, snout in the air, without looking back at Valerie.

            “Sir!” Valerie yipped.

            Mishiko stopped and turned around to face Valerie. “Why should I bother with a poorer creature than I? You’re obviously just a zilch. Don’t waste my time.” He turned back around and left.

            “That freakin’ jerk,” growled Valerie to herself. “I hope I never see him again.”

            Later that afternoon, Valerie was shopping for groceries when she ran across a gossipy Hen. “Valerie, I hear you have a thing for President Misha,” clucked the Hen as she winked.

            “Wha?! Who told you? I’ll kill whoever leaked that!” growled Valerie.

            “I heard it from Mishiko,” the Hen said dully. “He also said that you bombed your last test in biology class and that you go to community college because you couldn’t get into any university.”

            “That jerk!” Valerie hissed. “It’s on, you t**d!” she barked as she pictured Mishiko chuckling condescendingly at her.

            That Sunday, it was Valerie’s turn to serve the altar at church. As much as she loved lighting the candles, collecting the offering plates and helping with Communion, this week she did so with a heavy heart. She could not fully dedicate herself while loathing Mishiko - he was her neighbor in the most literal sense and as a child of God it was her responsibility to love him. But how?

            She decided to talk to Pastor Chip about it. As soon as she finished extinguishing the candles she trotted to the back of the church and pulled him to the side. “Pastor, do you have a minute?

            “Yes, what is it?” The Chipmunk looked up at the Fox with love, wanting to help her however he could.

            After a pause, Valerie said, “Well, I have this neighbor whom I can not for the life of me find any way to like. I know it is my duty as his sister in Christ to love him and I just can’t,” she sighed.

            “What’s so horrid about him?” asked.

            “He’s a total snob, for one. He thinks I’m some kind of second-class citizen and it irritates the heck out of me.”

            “Has he had some things in his past that make him hard to get along with?” asked Chip.

            “Yes, he could have had a pretty tough life but that doesn’t give him the right to treat me like trash.” Valerie said, trying to hide a growl.

            “True,“ said Chip, “but try to turn the other cheek. Next time he insults you, respond with a blessing.”

            A confused look crossed Valerie’s face. “How?”

            “You have to realize that when people are disagreeable it is usually because of some kind of hurt they feel. Once you understand their pain, it is easier to get along with them.”

            Valerie chewed this over in her head for a second before saying, “That makes sense.”

            “Read Matthew 5:44,” said Chip. “If you are kind to him while he treats you like trash, you are the one with the upper hand.”

            “That sounds awfully hard,” Valerie said softly.

            “It is. But learning from things like this one reason why we are alive,” answered Chip. “Would you liked to role play it?”

            “Sure, why not?” she replied.

            “Ok, I’m your neighbor and I am going to put you down. You respond like a Christian,” said Chip. “Ready?”

            “Go for it…”

            “Get out of here, you little zilch,” said Chip.

            Valerie laughed. “You sound just like him,” she said.

            “Yah,” said Chip, “What are you going to say?”

            “Um,… good morning?”

            “Almost there,” said Chip. Up the positivity a little more.”

            “…You look nice today?”

            “Good,” said Chip. “Paying a compliment to every insult is hard, but if you develop this ability you’ll find it much easier to get along with people. Should we keep going?”

            “No, that’s ok, I think I get it,” she answered.

            “Ok, good. Let me know how it goes,” said Chip.

            “I will. Thanks Pastor Chip,” she said as she gave him a hug.

            “My pleasure,” answered the Chipmunk.

            Later that morning, Valerie met with her friend Estelle of the Flamingoes for brunch. “This new neighbor of mine seems to think he’s better than me and it’s frustrating,” said Valerie.

            “What’s his name?” asked Estelle.

            “Mishiko.”

            “Mishiko of the Foxes? I used to be his maid,” said Estelle. 

            “How could you work for him of all people?” asked Valerie.

            “I had to so I could pay my rent. I got to know him quite well,” she answered. “Besides, you wouldn’t hate him so much if you knew his background.”

            “Like what?”

            “Well, he grew up dirt poor for one,” she answered. “His dad couldn’t hold a job and his mother was too ill to work while she was alive. She passed away of pneumonia when he was five. His dad had to raise five kits single handed, plus, the family was too poor to buy new shoes for him and his brothers, so the other kids teased him for wearing beat-up shoes. 

            He didn’t do well in school because he was dyslexic. The other children mocked him because he wore tattered clothing (his dad couldn’t afford nice outfits) and couldn’t read because of his dyslexia. They said he was a ’ filthy, stupid loser.’ All through his childhood his teachers told him he was a zilch and would never get anywhere because he was too dumb.

            He wasn’t about to take all that lying down. He decided he was going to prove everyone wrong by getting over his dyslexia, going to college, getting a top-notch job and being the success no one ever dreamed he could be.

            For the next twelve years he busted his behind putting himself through college, eventually earning a doctorate in economics. He eventually became the CEO of a bank and started making a six figure income. He relished getting to fire all of his peers who teased him as a kid and started to see other people as being unconditionally inconsequential to him. Because he thought no one else had worked as hard or gotten as far as he did, he considered them all inferior. He saw anyone without a Ph.D as a fool not worth his time.

            He was driving his Ferrari home from work one night when he fell asleep at the wheel and drove his car off a cliff.         

            Everyone thought he was dead, but a few days later he was seen walking around the neighborhood again. He looked a little different - the tip of his tail had turned black, for instance - but the voice, personality, and mannerisms were all the same as before.”

            “Wow,” said Valerie. “I had no idea…”

            “Now you know why he’s a ‘t**d.’ How could he have been otherwise? It’s not his fault,” said Estelle. “You should get to know someone before writing them off.”

            I can’t imagine going through everything he has, Valerie said to herself. I think we should talk.

            The next Sunday after church, Valerie knocked on Mishiko’s door. “Hi Mishiko, I need to talk with you.”

            “What is it?” he asked impatiently.

            “Well…I recently realized that I’ve been a little too harsh on you. Now that I know some of what you’ve been through, I sympathize, and I think it’s time we sign a ceasefire.”

            “You mean we’re at war?” He looked over his sunglasses.

            “Well, yeah, look at all the crud you spread about me, and I wasn’t so sweet to you either…”

            “Yes but I didn’t think you capable of retaliation,” he said in his usual flat manner.

            Dang it! Must…be…civil.. Can’t…fight any…more…Valerie thought. “See, this is what started the war in the first place. You need to not be so disrespectful to other creatures!” she barked at him. “I may not have a fancy degree but that doesn’t mean I’m less than you!”

            “I’m pretty sure you didn’t grow up without a mother or put yourself through college for twelve years,” he said. Despite his passionate diction, he spoke this with no emotion in his voice. “And I can guarantee I got much farther than you.”

            “It‘s too early to say that. I’m not done with my degree yet!” yipped Valerie. “For heaven’s sake I’m only twenty four years old! I have decades ahead of me!”

            “So you think. You have no idea how much longer you’ll be around. You could die tonight for all you know,” said Mishiko.

            Valerie felt a chill as Mishiko said this, but it was true.

            “Look, you t**d, you need to learn some respect!” growled Valerie. She picked up a large stick on the ground - she was a Martial Arts student and knew how to use one - and took a swipe at him, almost knocking the sunglasses off his face. He blew a whistle and an entire pack of squirrels flew out the door and chased Valerie. She dropped the stick and darted away.

Author's Note

does this make sense?