Last night, I caught the faint sound of water flowing from our neighbor's place. My mind immediately spiraled into worst-case scenarios -- had they left a tap running? Was a pipe about to burst?

This hypervigilance stems from last year's plumbing nightmare. While we slept peacefully upstairs, our kitchen pipes decided to stage a rebellion. We woke up to a disaster.

Since then, every unexpected water sound has become a potential harbinger of catastrophe for me.

I spent last night tossing and turning, my ears straining to identify the source of the sound. What if it was our pipes?

Today, everything seems normal. The mysterious water sounds have either stopped or were perhaps nothing to worry about in the first place.