I’m severely allergic to dairy, so I bring labeled oat milk to work—but it kept disappearing.

Frustrated, I filled a carton with toothpaste. The next day, I heard gagging. It was Clara, the new hire. Mortified, I learned she was skipping meals to support her brother.

“I didn’t think a splash would matter,” she said. My petty revenge, born from inconvenience, clashed with her quiet struggle for survival. I bought her lunch.

It became routine. We talked. Connected. The milk was never touched again—not from fear, but from understanding. Sometimes, compassion teaches us more than any act of retaliation ever could.