Shadows transformed into light

Shadows transformed into light

Solaya fulfilled a dream and emigrated to an island. She rented a small terraced house and lived there for a little over two months. The house next door to one side looked very occupied, but it only became lively when the residents arrived. They came from an island in the north to spend the remaining winter months on the island in the south.

Until then, Solaya thought he had found a beautiful and quiet spot on earth.

The neighbor couple is retired, around late 60s, maybe early 70s. He introduced himself to Solaya, with his first name Derek. After two or three days, things started happening, and the peaceful atmosphere was over. Another neighbor had informed Solaya days before that Mr. Derek wasn't a pleasant person and that he seemed to be causing problems every time. Great!

Mr. Derek turned out to be a very aggressive, selfish, and inconsiderate person. He acted as if he lived there alone. The crowning glory of his behavior was his loud music! 50s music, always playing the same song. From morning until late at night, after two weeks, Solaya's nerves were frayed. After there was still no peace shortly before 10 p.m., Solaya went over and rang the doorbell furiously. He was relatively understanding and said he needed a few more minutes, then he'd stop. OK! And that's exactly what happened!

The next morning, things continued as they had the day before. Solaya displayed behavior she was unfamiliar with. With indescribable self-confidence, she went back to Mr. Derek's house and rang the bell. She could hear him screaming through the door, and when the door opened, he spewed endless fire, and Solaya felt like he was about to come for her throat. She didn't let herself be intimidated and simply told him again and again that his music was too loud. This probably made him even more angry that someone was standing up to him.

Something incredible happened.

Solaya suddenly faded into the background, as the other neighbors were standing in front of her in no time. Then emotions were released, and Solaya was left wondering, "What movie am I in?" A neighbor had vented her anger so much that her husband had to hold her back, otherwise this woman would have attacked Mr. Derek. Words truly cannot describe this situation. Solaya had apparently opened a very sensitive valve, and when frustration builds up over the years, things start to build up.

That evening, they planned to go to the landlord together and explain what had happened and that things couldn't go on with Mr. Derek. The discussion with the landlord was very intense, and the landlord clarified the situation with Mr. Derek. They agreed that he would only play his music during a certain time period and, most importantly, that he would drastically reduce the volume. The music and volume arrangements worked well, but Mr. Derek had vented his anger in a different way. Doors were slamming, he was drilling and hammering like crazy. Mr. Derek didn't even look at Solaya again!

A very stormy day.

The sun was shining brightly, but the wind was blowing violently, tossing everything that wasn't securely tied down into the air. Including Mr. Derek's large parasol, which was open on his patio, and where did it end up? Yes, right in Solaya's garden! Solaya thought, "Oh, no, please don't," but it was no use; she had to ring Mr. Derek's doorbell again. The doorbell had been turned off for now! So Solaya just kept knocking until the door opened. Solaya apologized for the disturbance and simply pointed at the parasol in their garden. A quick "OH" escaped his lips and he walked past Solaya to get his parasol. That was quite a monster of an umbrella, and Mr. Derek had a hard time with it. Solaya asked very kindly if she could help him, but he didn't want to, and she was pleased to be presented with a situation that was surely very unpleasant for him.

That was by no means all!

One fine morning, there was a heated argument between another neighbor and Mr. Derek. Solaya looked and saw Mr. Derek sitting in his car, while the other neighbor was tugging at the car door, about to attack Mr. Derek. Solaya was so frightened by what was going on. She saw Mr. Derek's wife approaching the other neighbor with a broom handle. The other neighbor then retreated. Late that same afternoon, the police arrived. They first went to Mr. Derek's house and then to the other neighbor.

The following morning something terrible happened.

As always, early in the morning Solaya heard Mr. Derek fiddling around in the yard. You could never miss him. But then Solaya heard a very dull thud that called for her attention. She ran to the kitchen window and looked out, but she didn't see anything. When she turned away from the window, she saw Mr. Derek lying on the ground, his face on the asphalt. Solaya immediately ran over to him and asked if she could help him. He was completely dazed, but had responded to her and his face was covered in blood. Solaya called his wife for help, who hadn't noticed any of this; there was actually no one there to see. Solaya helped Mr. Derek sit up a little and then his wife came over with paper towels.

What was that, is this man not leaving Solaya alone?

Solaya gave Mr. Derek her full attention and compassion and drove him and his wife to the hospital. She told his wife she could call when they were able to go home and she would pick them up. Two hours later, Solaya picked up just Mr. Derek's wife. He underwent further examinations and also had to stay in the hospital for a few days. The next day, his wife came to Solaya and brought her flowers and thanked her for her help. Solaya accepted the flowers and wished Mr. Derek a speedy recovery. Solaya was simply grateful that everything had turned out so well. For a moment, she thought about what would have happened if she, Solaya, hadn't been there either. Well, luckily that wasn't the case and it seemed meant to be that Solaya was the one who helped him!

Everything has its meaning.

After a few days, Mr. Derek came out of the hospital and it couldn't be ignored. But this time Solaya was happy that this person was well again. What happened next completely upset Solaya. Mr. Derek came to her and thanked her personally. Solaya looked into his face, into his eyes and there stood before her a completely different man. All aggression was gone, his features were completely relaxed and his eyes were full of tears. In a very emotional voice he thanked her and said that Solaya had saved his life by being there so quickly and by getting him to the hospital so quickly. He hugged Solaya and there was hardly any end to his thanks.

In the end, a shadow turned into bright light.

Mr. Derek had changed completely, for the better, and he and his wife moved out and returned to the island in the north. The other roommates are happy that peace has returned, as is the landlord. It took Solaya some time to fully understand what the whole thing was about. It felt incredibly good for Solaya that everything turned out this way, even though she didn't understand what it was all about at first!

Solaya came to turn a shadow into light! All's well that ends well!