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In the folklore of many countries and peoples there is a similar fairy tale plot in which one of the characters gets another one’s trust, then asks them for some favor, but afterwards rendering this help becomes, in their understanding, the direct duty of the overly kind friend. Characters change, circumstances change, but many of us are familiar with this story since childhood.

We are well acquainted – but at the same time, we do not apply this plot to ourselves at all, and some people use this in the most impudent way. Unfortunately, the human psyche is designed in such a way that it can be quite easy to manipulate us. And even having actually seen the light, we very often criticize ourselves for “cruelty” towards a “truly good person.” As, for example, it happened in the tale that we’re about to tell you today.

This story happened a few years ago, and since that time the original post managed to collect 5.2K upvotes and almost 900 different comments in the AITA Reddit community. We sincerely hope that in the time that has passed since the events described, the author has done well, but for now, let’s look at her narrative in detail.

More info: Reddit

The author of the post had been co-living with her roommate for 9 years

Image credits: Nataliya Vaitkevich (not the actual photo)

So, at the time of the story, the author of the post was 29 years old, and she and her friend had been living together for nine years. And all the while, every year, the original poster had been in charge of filing her roommate’s taxes. That is, every year she gave the OP her W2, SS card, and ID, and then the author went to her sister and they filled out everything together.

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Image credits: ChocolateDaifuku

The author’s sister helped her with filing taxes, and she usually treated her for lunch

The author admits that she’s dyslexic, so her sister simply helped her check whether she filled out everything correctly and did not mix up any numbers. For her help, the OP usually took her sister out for lunch – either in a restaurant, or the sisters just ordered some food of her own choice. And so, according to the original poster, it went on for eight years – until the previous year.

Image credits: ChocolateDaifuku

The fact is that her friend’s non-participation in this process began to gradually annoy the OP. She invited the roommate to come with her several times, but she invariably refused, preferring to watch shows instead, and assuring that she completely trusted the author of the post. Moreover, from time to time the friend would even accuse the OP of stealing some of it, though she could always prove that she didn’t. And, of course, not only did the roommate not once pitch in to treat the OP’s sister, but she was even mad when she did not bring anything to her.

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The author’s patience finally came to an end and she refused to do her roommate’s taxes

In other words, sooner or later, the OP’s patience had to come to an end. This is what happened a year ago, when the author of the post directly told her friend that she was no longer going to deal with her taxes. She, in turn, whined about not knowing how to do it and being too anxious to go to a professional. The original poster said that it was time to start doing this herself, but the roommate simply ignored her and did not file anything at all.

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Image credits: ChocolateDaifuku

So a year flew by – and the roommate asked the OP to do her taxes once more, and again the author of the post flatly refused. In response, the friend burst into tears, claiming that she was ruining everything by not helping her. After that, the woman began to complain about the original poster to their mutual friends, and they even told the author more than once that she should help her friend. But the OP still stood her ground.

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Image credits: ChocolateDaifuku

The roommate told her that she’s ‘too young to worry about all these things’

In the original poster’s own words, her roommate said she’s still young and shouldn’t have to worry about it so much. But as the OP aptly points out, they are literally only 3 months apart in age. In any case, the author concludes her story, the roommate most likely will not file taxes again, but at the same time only her sister supports her, and most mutual acquaintances, like her friend, consider her being unnecessarily mean and literally claim she should help her out because she “clearly isn’t responsible enough to do this on her own.”

Image credits: Martha Soukup (not the actual photo)

People in the comments massively sided with the author in this confrontation

To say that most people in the comments were surprised is probably an understatement. Most of the commenters do believe that seven years of filing another person’s taxes, without receiving any gratitude for it, except for periodic accusations of stealing money, is, as they say, ‘beyond good and evil’. In any case, according to many people, at nearly 30 everyone should be able to file taxes.

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Image credits: Marco Verch Professional Photographer (not the actual photo)

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Some commenters are also wondering how the original poster can even continue to co-live with such a person. To this, the author of the post said that they had known each other for about fifteen years, and the roommate moved in with her when they were 20, so initially she did not see anything wrong with just helping a friend. “I guess this is all partly my fault for being a doormat,” sums up the author of the post quite sadly.

 

We would be very interested to know your opinion about this story, so please feel free to express it in the comments below the post. And if you also have in your memory some examples of such a plot from real life, then be sure to share it with us, because some of the readers may find it entertaining.