Chapter 2The Disputed Refrigerator

The woman was hefty and aggressive, pushing me around like I was nothing.

A head shorter, I swayed from her shoves, nearly losing my balance.

Frustrated, I confronted Lisa, "Look, I get you're worried, but why blame my fridge when my teas are fine?"

Lisa dodged my gaze, tears spilling over as whispers filled the air. "I dunno, okay? He's just a baby and hasn't eaten anything else. It was only the milk in your fridge. You knew how critical that milk was, and you didn't even check with me..."

That was my fridge!

Since when do I need your approval to adjust the settings?

Why didn't you just buy your own fridge?

I wish I could rewind to yesterday and slap some sense into myself.

Why play the good Samaritan for someone who just doesn't appreciate it?

Before I could even react, bystanders started pointing fingers.

"Young girls today, so selfish. They do one tiny favor and act like they're saints, without a care for the consequences."

"Poor kid, look at him—skin and bones. Just pitiful."

Lisa's tears flowed heavier, her face a mess of sorrow.

Her mother-in-law stood taller, righteousness in every word. "Listen to them! This is on you! Pay up now, or if anything happens to my grandson, it's on your head!"

And before I knew it, she was dragging me to the cashier, not allowing me a moment to defend myself.

Confused and overwhelmed, the surrounding murmurs felt like choking hands.

Left with no other option, I paid up, teeth gritted in frustration.

She finally released me. "That's how it should be. You screw up, you pay up. And keep your wallet ready for any more bills—send the money directly to Lisa. Actually, add me on WhatsApp, and send it straight to me!"

After snatching my phone and fiddling with it, she reluctantly let me go.

Thousands down the drain, my wallet lighter and my spirit crushed. How had I been so gullible?

Do good deeds really only bring trouble, with accusations and guilt tossed in for good measure?

The more I thought, the angrier I got. I nearly broke down right there outside the hospital.

I was raised to be kind and to cultivate goodwill.

"Step back, and the world grows larger," my mom always said.

And it had always seemed to work—I'd never really encountered malice or adversity.

Even if problems popped up, there were always folks around to smooth things over, or the issues never got so intense that they confronted me directly.

But Lisa and her mother-in-law were truly testing me, stomping on my goodwill.

I felt tainted, like I might never shake off this grime.

Riding the empty subway, the grimy feeling clung to me, my body chilling with each stop.

Then, an ad for a state-of-the-art fridge flickered on—a promise of frost-free brilliance.

They may have played dirty, which I couldn't compete with.

But I wasn't out of the game yet...