So the neighbor once again smoked. It’s 2:21 am to be exact, and I’m still wide awake because I’m finishing the laundry. I believe this is how my allergic rhinitis worsened. They smoke in the wee hours of the morning when all our windows are open, and we’re fast asleep.

And this is even worse. We get to inhale the cigarette smoke without us knowing, and you can imagine how much of that smoke they puffed got inside our lungs. This is the disadvantage in communities like this where only a wall separates you from your neighbor – you hear and smell pretty much everything.

I am angry. Right now. I want to go outside and just shout at them and wake up the whole neighborhood. But something inside me told me it’s wrong. Instead, I thought it best to file a formal complaint against them at the admin’s office. Here are some parts of my complaint:

EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 26: NATIONWIDE SMOKING BAN

I am filing this complaint at the administration’s office first thing in the morning. While I would like to choose being kind, I cannot allow their irresponsibility to cause irreversible effects on our health. For one, they are not the ones who will pay for my medical fees when I get hospitalized because my health is already compromised due to second-hand smoke.

I am posting this here just in case anything bad would happen to me and my husband after filing the complaint i. e. harassments, threats, etc. , then they will be the first persons to be investigated upon by the authorities. I believe this is what God meant by correcting the bad behavior the right way and never using my wrath to commit another sin.

I will leave it to God and the law of our country to give justice and correct what is wrong. I am doing this not just for me and my husband, but for the other neighbors as well in this floor.

I know what I am doing is what God wanted me to do a long time ago. And I am confident that this is the right thing to do guided by these Bible verses:

“Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the cause of orphans. Fight for the rights of widows.” – Isaiah 1:17

“Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly.” – Leviticus 19:15

Our neighbor, if you are reading this, I wrote this to give you a second chance and hoping we can settle this peacefully:

I tried to understand them as a person – flawed and yet someone who also needs God’s love and grace like me. Napapa-smile din ako kapag naririnig kong nagkukulitan ang mga bata sa terrace. They remind me noong kabataan ko at kung paano kami magkulitan na magkakapatid. Kahit maiingay, they somehow bring life to the eerie silence dito sa community paminsan. One of them sings beautifully, too.

What I hate is ‘yung act ng pag-smoke. Because ang epekto sa aming health ni Brian ay irreversible. I am also concerned about their kids at sa kanila din. They can actually smoke because my designated smoking area sa aming community although it’s one block away from our building.

I always pray na they will be able to overcome the addiction not just for us, their neighbors, but for their own sake. And yet kung hindi talaga kaya, okay lang sa akin na sa condo sila mag-smoke as long as isara nila ang pintuan at bintana nila ng maayos so no smoke could escape palabas na pwede naming malanghap.

The windows and terrace door ng mga units were all designed to completely seal any air from coming in or going out so they can still smoke if they really can’t control the urge. As long as huwag sa terrace. And yet I pray that they would quit altogether alang-alang sa mga anak or kamaganak nila lalo na ngayong panahon ng COVID 19.

I may not know their reasons for smoking and their need to smoke, and yet I know they have struggles, too, at baka ito lang din ang alam nilang way para ma-relieve sila. That is why I cover them with prayers always. Dahil ‘yun lang ang tanging paraan na alam ko na makakatulong ako sa kanila.

Sincerely praying for our neighbor’s cooperation,