Tony didn’t know he was going to die that evening. He felt the same pompous trust in the world around him that he did everyday. That he was always in the right, that he could do no wrong. A sense of entitlement that stayed with him since his upbringing. Tony felt the world was his oyster, and that he could do and act however he wanted. Until that fateful day after the trees came down.

The neighborhood had been quiet up until that fateful day. People all around acted as casually as any typical suburban neighborhood would be expected to act. But Tony wanted more. He already had a dislike for the neighbors that lived behind them. Their property joined together with the backs of their homes forming a large L. Plenty of yard space for the both of them on either side, with a substantial private divider between them. A massive tree line of beautifully large arborvitaes separated the two properties straight across the backside of Tony’s modernized suburbian home.

After the neighbors had first moved in, he noticed the young neighbor boy waiting for the bus at the stop sign planted in Tony’s front yard. It bothered Tony that the little fuck (as he liked to call him) was standing on Tony’s lawn waiting for the bus. But, needless to say, this is where the bus stop was, and the stop sign had been there long before Tony had bought the house. One day early school day while the boy waited patiently, Tony decided to make his objections audible enough for the boy to hear. Confused about this, the boy raced home after school and explained to his parents what he had heard.

Enter Michael, the boy’s father. Michael wasn’t known to back down from things, and had a bit of a temper but managed it with a strong sense of self control. A veteran from the recent wars in the middle east, Michael struggled with his own demons enough and certainly wasn’t about to let some entitled civilian puke say things like this around his boy. So, Michael being Michael, he accompanied his wife next door and had a friendly interaction asking about the incident. Tony being the pompous man he was, refused to admit to his mistake and decided to lie about the incident. This is when the trouble on Franklin Pl started.

Tony stewed for months. He felt he had been bested and domineered. He sought revenge on Michael, but didn’t know how to achieve it. Deep down Tony was scared of Michael. Michael was a rather muscularly built man, and Tony knew he was a veteran. Tony didn’t know what to do, until one day, Tony came up with what he thought to be the most brilliant, devious, and veangeful plan he could think of. Tony cut down the wall of arborvitaes.

Upon the discovery of this, Michael was stunned. He couldn’t belive what was happening. The entire privacy of his yard was gone. Left barren to the entire world’s eye. But Michael kept his head about him, and his wife gave him the most brilliant idea. Plant more arborvitaes. So he did. Michael went and bought the biggest and healthiest evergreen arborvitaes he could find. Spared no expense. Some he had delivered to his home, and when he realized he didn’t have enough, he went and picked up several more with his own truck. Michael spent several days working from dawn to dusk planting each nad every one of those luscious trees by himself. Sweating and toiling, cutting roots, digging holes, mixing fertalizer. Tony had tried to interject several times toward Michael, but Michael jsut shrugged him off and kept the conversations civil. Though he knew deep down that Tony was just playing games. Regardless of games played or comments made, Michael’s hard work payed off, and the trees were all planted within a few days of aching work. Michael stepped back and smiled at his glory. His full privacy would be back in a couple years and he could live at peace.

Tony wan’t happy, not at all. Michael caught Tony tossing rocks into his yard on several occassions like a child skipping stones at a lake. Months of passive aggressive behaviour ensued from Tony and his family. From aiming flood lights directly at Michael’s house at all hours of the night, to allowing their dog and children onto his property. Michael decided to play ignorance and give Tony the benefit of the doubt. He tried to approach Tony in a friendly manner once again, and he asked him why he was doing this. Tony played ignorance, playing Michael for a fool. Michael decided enough was enough at this point. He called Tony out right then and there in front of Tony’s entire family. This proved fruitless because Tony only acted as though his neighbor was crazy. Tony, the pompous man. Surely he could see his own wrong doings? But Tony’s upbringing only enforced his sense of righteousness. Tony stood firm and played the fool, just like he had in the past.

Michael stepping back inside his home flooded with adrenaline. He hadn’t felt this way since his last traumatic episode years ago. He had been seen by VA doctors for several years to keep the episodes in check. He had finally come to grips with his PTSD and had it under control, but this madness was relapsing him. He began to feel a complete loss of self control. Michael’s wife interjected and attempted to make him feel safe. In the past, this had worked, but Michael hadn’t faced a real threat in some time. Tony was creating a warzone around Michael without realizing it.

Michael’s doctor and wife collaberated on a wonderful idea together. Michael would write a letter to Tony as a last ditch effort to try to make piece between them. To stop the passive aggressive attacks, and therfore stop the battling between the two of them. Michael’s pride didn’t want to give into the arrogance of his neighbor. But what other choice did he have? It wasn’t in Michael’s nature to hate. He wanted to let go. His wife helped him write the letter and it was mailed to Tony’s address. Weeks went by, but nothing was heard from him. Then, on one fateful day, Michael caught Tony’s dog on his property again. Michael stormed outside, but he kept his whits about him, his wife followed.

“Can you please stop coming onto our property? We sent you a nice letter explaining that my husband has PTSD and that you were aggravating it for him,” she pleaded to him.

“God dammit!” Tony barked at her. " Ever since you moved in its been nothing but problems!”

“Ever since we moved in you’ve been nothing but a passive aggressive asshole!” she drove back in a tone much more stern this time.

Michael’s wife turned and headed back toward their house. Michael followed, but not before giving Tony the meanest, most sinister look that Michael could have ever possible made.

That night, Michael couldn’t sleep. He tossed and turned and stared at the ceiling. His adrenaline had peaked that afternoon and he was still coming down off of the high it created. Suddenly, the shades of his bedroom illuminated brightly. Michael sprung out of bed and looked through the blinds. Tony’s flood light had been moved so it beamed straight into his bedroom window. All other lights in Tony’s house were out, indicating that Tony had gone to sleep. Michael had had enough. After almost a year now of this childish entitled behavior from this man, Michael was going to put an end to it tonight. He dressed himself and threw on his boots. He ventured into the garage and grabbed the 20 lbs. sledgehammer he had propped against the toolbox. So as not to wake any of the other neighbors, Michael decided to go back into the house and exit through the back door.

He proceeded across the backlawn at a vigorous jog. Tony’s flood light illuminated the entire area, so any chance of him creeping were out of the question. Michael didn’t care anymore. He began to sprint and reaching the backdoor of Tony’s house swung with sledge with every ounce of strength he could muster, smashing the door right off of its hinges. The house was black inside except for the illumination of the numbers on the kitchen microwave. A panicked set of footsteps scrambled on the floor above. Michael went across the living room into the front hall and stopped at the foot of the stairs. There, staring down at him, was the fat arrogant prick himself, Tony. Tony screamed and darted to the bedroom. Michael stormed up the stairs and followed. He swung the sledge back like a golf club and struck it into the door with a force that rattled the heavens. The entire door frame crumbled at its impact and the door splintered apart into shrapnel fragments, scattering across Tony’s bedroom. Tony curled up in a ball on the floor near the corner of the room protecting his head with his hands.

“Leave me alone you fucking psycho!” Tony screamed at the top of his lungs.

“You fucked with the wrong guy,” Michael said calmly.

A grin larger than any grin before inched its way across Michael’s broad jaw line and he swung the 20 lbs. hammer overhead. The hammer came down with a crushing blow on the back of Tony’s skull. Tony didn’t know he was going to die tonight, but Michael did.