Cecelia, a 40-year-old single mother and marketing manager, describes her life with her daughter Lily, whom she cherishes deeply. Despite the challenges of balancing work and single parenthood after parting ways with Lily’s father, Cecelia finds joy in their cozy, tight-knit neighborhood. Lily, a ten-year-old with a generous spirit, loves their garden, where they had installed solar lights together, which added a magical touch to their evenings.
Their peaceful life takes a turn when Meredith, their new neighbor, moves in. Meredith, a 33-year-old finance professional with a penchant for designer clothes and a pristine garden, quickly reveals herself as unfriendly and overly critical. She complains about the solar lights Cecelia and Lily enjoy, insisting they are too bright and a nuisance. Despite their gentle, well-intentioned glow that shuts off by midnight, Meredith’s complaints escalate, eventually involving other neighbors and threatening legal action.
Reluctantly, Cecelia agrees to remove the lights to avoid further conflict, which upsets Lily. The next morning, Meredith shows up in disheveled pajamas, frantically demanding Cecelia replace the lights. It turns out that the absence of the lights allowed raccoons to invade Meredith’s garden, causing extensive damage to her meticulously maintained plants and flowers. Meredith, unable to handle the situation, is desperate for Cecelia to reinstall the lights and help with the cleanup.
Cecelia is unmoved by Meredith’s pleas. She calmly informs Meredith that the lights were removed per her request and suggests hiring a professional to deal with the damage. She sees this as a fitting example of karma, demonstrating that Meredith’s efforts to remove something she found bothersome ended up causing a problem of her own making. With the lights reinstalled, Cecelia and Lily enjoy their garden once more, while Meredith faces the consequences of her actions.
This incident underscores Cecelia’s belief in karma, as she sees Meredith’s attempts to rid herself of a minor inconvenience result in a much larger personal misfortune, ultimately balancing the scales of justice in a way that seemed almost poetic.
