Gemotions

The sight of the new sports car, a cherry-red Ferrari, parked in Mrs. Gable’s driveway ignited a cold fury in Michael. Michael, who was stuck driving a beat-up sedan he'd had to painstakingly repair himself. He knew she'd been acting humble, always complaining about the cost of groceries. That wasn’t right. He felt a need to balance the scales.

He began by “forgetting” to turn off his outdoor floodlight at night. The blinding glare, a relentless spotlight on Mrs. Gable’s opulent home, became his nightly ritual. He found a grim satisfaction in the inconvenience.

His sleep became restless. He would wake in the night, heart hammering, imagining the look on her face as she noticed the flickering porch light he'd "forgotten" to fix.

Then came the prank calls. Silent, anonymous calls, at all hours of the night. His heart leaped each time he heard the phone ring. He never said a word, just a quiet chuckle and a click.