“Good morning,” muttered Dana as she walked into the office, sinking heavily into her chair. She switched on her computer, glanced out the window where low clouds merged with the damp sky, and didn’t even look at her colleagues.
“Morning,” replied Emily and Grace, exchanging glances and shrugging. Dana, usually cheerful and chatty—the friendliest person in their department—sat in silence, lips pressed tight. It was as if the grey drizzle outside had seeped into her mood.
Three of them worked in the office: Dana, thirty, married with one son, quiet and composed; Emily, the oldest at thirty-six, mother of two, energetic and outgoing; and Grace, the youngest at twenty-seven, living with her boyfriend but unmarried. Emily, true to her role, was always the one to break the silence and suggest coffee breaks.
“Girls, how about a cuppa?” she finally said, unable to bear the quiet any longer, heading toward the corner with the coffee machine. “Won’t be a mo.”
“Go on, then,” Grace agreed. Dana stayed silent.
A few minutes later, Emily returned with a tray carrying three mugs. Dana gave a slight nod, offering no thanks, not even a glance. Grace tried to lighten the mood:
“Cheers, Em! You’re a lifesaver.”
They shared a laugh, while Dana managed only the faintest smile. Emily couldn’t hold back any longer.
“Dana, love, what’s up? Honestly, you’re making me think we’ve done something.”
“Course not,” Dana shook her head. “It’s just… home stuff. Well, not home exactly. Family.”
“Again, with Marina?” Grace frowned. “Look, how much longer are you going to let her get to you? You can’t keep bottling it up.”
“And how am I supposed to ignore her when we’re practically living on top of each other? Two houses on the same plot. My Tom acts like he doesn’t notice. And his brother, James, is fine, keeps to himself. But Marina… she’s a nightmare. Yesterday, I snapped. Told her everything I’d been holding in. Now I don’t even know how we’ll go on like this.”
When Dana married Tom, his father had built two identical houses in the same yard—one for his eldest son, James, and one for Tom, the youngest. After the wedding, Dana and Tom moved into their house, while James and Marina lived next door. But just days after the celebration, tragedy struck—Tom and James’s parents died in a car crash. The brothers were left alone, their families sharing the same small space.
At first, it was fine. Both wives had babies around the same time. Life seemed to run smoothly, side by side. But slowly, Dana began to realise just how different she and Marina were.
Marina was loud, explosive, always complaining. Dana was the opposite—quiet, fond of peace, happiest with a morning coffee in the kitchen, music playing softly. Tom was much the same—calm, steady. In that way, they were perfect for each other.
“I’ve never liked big crowds. My family is my world,” Dana would tell her colleagues. “I’m happy with just Tom and our son. We don’t need anyone else.”
Marina, though, saw it differently.
“We’re all one family—we should stick together! What’s with this distance? We ought to be close,” she’d insist.
But it wasn’t just talk. From the start, Marina acted like she owned the whole yard. She treated Dana and Tom’s space as if it were hers, barging into their business uninvited. She’d march into their house without knocking, even when Dana was putting their son down for a nap.
“Oh, thought you were up already! Never mind, I won’t stay!” And with that, she’d slam the door.
On weekends, when Dana rose early to enjoy a quiet coffee alone, Marina would appear at the window like clockwork.
“Having a brew? Pour me one too—I’ll be right in.” And before Dana could protest, she’d be sitting at her kitchen table.
“Sometimes I just want to be left alone,” Dana confided to Tom. “But it’s like she goes out of her way to ruin the peace.”
Confronting her outright felt wrong—good manners held her back. Even James, Marina’s husband, had pulled her aside more than once.
“Marina, leave Tom and Dana be. You wouldn’t like it if someone barged in on you like that.”
One evening, after a particularly long week, Dana ordered takeaway sushi—a little treat after their son got top marks in his term. Just as she stepped out to collect it, Marina came flying out of the other house.
“Sushi? You got sushi and didn’t tell me? Why do you always keep things to yourself?” She unleashed a torrent of accusations, her voice ringing across the street.
Dana froze. Tom tried to calm things, but Marina made a scene for the whole neighbourhood. James dragged her inside, but the shouting carried on behind the walls. Dana shut the door behind her and burst into tears.
“Why do I have to justify every little thing to her? It was our evening, our meal! I don’t owe her an explanation!” She wiped her eyes, voice shaking. “She’s always in our business, always shouting, always noisy. And all we want is peace.”
The next morning, she walked into the office exhausted. She told Emily and Grace everything. They could only shake their heads.
“Ten years of this?” Emily threw up her hands. “I’d have kicked her out long ago. No way I’d put up with it.”
“You’ve got your own family—Tom, your boy. That’s what matters. The rest? Let them call themselves ‘one family’ all they like—they can live how they want,” Grace added.
“Yeah,” Dana sighed. “I’ve always stayed quiet. Always let things slide. But not anymore. Next time, I’ll stand my ground. Even if it goes against everything I was taught.”
Outside, the rain still drizzled. But inside Dana, for the first time in years, something felt lighter. Because she’d finally realised—she had a right to quiet. To peace. To her own life. Without the noise from next door.
