As much as the thought of bleaching the water had begun to feel like his only option, he knew he couldn’t act without at least saying something first. He wasn’t a cruel man. He had spent his whole life teaching rules, safety, responsibility.
Even now, he wanted to believe that courtesy still mattered. So he crossed the lawn with a small knock on his neighbors’ door. The couple appeared after a pause, the husband leaning against the frame, the wife standing just behind him, arms crossed.