All of a sudden you feel a tickle within. There is a funny feeling going on. Your face scrunches up, your nose wiggles, there’s a sniffle, and your nose crinkles up and gives you all of the signs. You’re trying to search for the alien feeling; to better accommodate the sensations you’re experiencing. You think you’ve almost got it. Believing you are almost ready to let it loose. You feel yourself about to explode. And then, that one person, the one who knows the pain and aggravation they are about to cause interrupts.
All it takes is one word to deter your concentration, “bless you” or something random like “elephant” or “pudding.” That person knows exactly what they have done and they seem proud. And you are left sitting there down in the dumps because you know the feeling will be back, and that is the last thing you want.
That one simple word or phrase has made your sneeze disappear. You are enraged. How dare they interrupt such a personal and pivotal moment! You were about to let loose the mother of all sneezes, and they just intruded like it's no big deal. They derailed it from happening and stuffed the monster back into the box. Now you are stuck waiting. Waiting for the feeling to come back and coercing it to the surface once again. How long will that take? You had been waiting for it to come, and it only took them one second to ruin it. That’s just wrong.
The next thought in your head after they have ruined your moment is pay back. What could you do that is an equal amount of pain? They need to feel the pain they have caused you and just letting it go will not suffice.
Beware — the pay back from a person who has lost their sneeze is a frightful foe. The person who caused the loss will soon regret their decision and cower under the wrath of pay back.
But now all you can do is wait. Wait for the sneeze to come back and plan your attack. You think once you have shared the pain with the “sneeze stopper” you both are even. Once revenge is a success you begin to go about your day with the knowledge that a sneeze will appear again, but this time you feel ready. And then it all starts again.
The nose wiggles, the face scrunches, all the sniffles come back and your nose is even more crinkled up. The sneeze is so much worse than the first. You thought you were prepared, but you see now that you are not. You are even more angry with the person who stopped your first sneeze because you know that the reason this one is worse is that the first one never erupted. And then, as you are ready to let loose and finally let the monster out of the box, it all just hits replay. The person strikes again. They take one second to ruin all of your hard work, and you are now done and overwhelmed with rage.
