{"id":18537,"date":"2026-08-07T17:07:55","date_gmt":"2026-08-07T17:07:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/readingmydairy.com\/?p=18537"},"modified":"2026-08-07T17:07:55","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T17:07:55","slug":"my-neighbor-parked-his-car-on-my-lawn-the-surprise-waiting-for-him-the-next-morning-was-priceless","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/readingmydairy.com\/?p=18537","title":{"rendered":"My Neighbor Parked His Car on My Lawn \u2013 The Surprise Waiting for Him the Next Morning Was Priceless"},"content":{"rendered":"
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I had overlooked my neighbor\u2019s constant criticism, repeated trespassing, and obsession with controlling everything because I wanted a peaceful life. But when he deliberately parked his SUV on my lawn and laughed at me for protesting, I finally gave him a reason to respect the boundary between our properties.<\/strong><\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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I was twenty-six when I purchased my first home.<\/p>\n

It was neither spacious nor remarkable.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

There were only two bedrooms, one bathroom, and a kitchen filled with outdated cabinets, but none of that mattered.<\/p>\n

The house belonged to me.<\/p>\n

I had paid for it using the inheritance my father had left behind, along with the money I had saved while working in finance.<\/p>\n

My profession had taught me more about mortgages and interest rates than most people my age ever wanted to know.<\/p>\n

The house stood on a peaceful street where many residents had lived for decades.<\/p>\n

I was at least ten years younger than every other homeowner on the block.<\/p>\n

In the beginning, everyone welcomed me warmly.<\/p>\n

Lawson, who lived across the road, arrived with homemade banana bread.<\/p>\n

Frank, a retired mechanic, offered to repair my lawn mower when it stopped running.<\/p>\n

Elise invited me to the neighborhood barbecue before I had even finished opening all my boxes.<\/p>\n

And then there was Sheldon.<\/p>\n

Sheldon owned the house next door.<\/p>\n

He was somewhere in his mid-fifties, tall and broad-shouldered, and always dressed as though he were on his way to an important meeting.<\/p>\n

Even when carrying his garbage outside, he wore polished shoes and a neatly pressed shirt.<\/p>\n

The first time he approached me, he stopped at the edge of my driveway and examined my property as though he were conducting an inspection.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, you\u2019re the new owner,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am. I\u2019m Amanda.\u201d<\/p>\n

He nodded without offering his own name.<\/p>\n

I eventually had to ask.<\/p>\n

\u201cSheldon.\u201d<\/p>\n

His attention immediately shifted to the front yard.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe previous owner kept the hedges lower. You should do the same.\u201d<\/p>\n

I laughed, assuming he was making a joke.<\/p>\n

He was completely serious.<\/p>\n

During the following year, Sheldon managed to find fault with nearly everything I did.<\/p>\n

He pointed out that my trash bins could be seen from the street.<\/p>\n

He asked whether I intended to replace the porch light because the bulb was \u201ctoo white.\u201d<\/p>\n

He complained whenever my friends parked along the curb in front of my own property.<\/strong><\/h1>\n

One morning at eight, he knocked on my door solely to inform me that a cardboard box had remained beside my recycling bin for two days.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt gets collected tomorrow,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt still looks messy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m okay with that.\u201d<\/p>\n

He clearly disliked my response.<\/p>\n

Most of the time, Sheldon avoided being openly hostile.<\/p>\n

Instead, he preferred delivering small criticisms with a pleasant smile.<\/p>\n

He had a talent for making every complaint sound almost reasonable.<\/p>\n

That was one reason I continued ignoring him.<\/p>\n

I had spent my childhood surrounded by relatives who seemed to thrive on confrontation.<\/p>\n

My sister could transform a simple grocery list into an argument, while my older brother had wasted years responding to every insult directed at her.<\/p>\n

I had promised myself that I would never live that way.<\/p>\n

Whenever Sheldon criticized something, I simply smiled.<\/p>\n

When he said my lawn looked uneven, I answered, \u201cThanks for noticing.\u201d<\/p>\n

When he complained that my wind chime made too much noise, I removed it because I did not care enough to start a dispute.<\/p>\n

When he moved my trash cans several feet farther down the curb without permission, I quietly returned them to their original place.<\/p>\n

I believed I was preserving the peace.<\/p>\n

In reality, I was teaching Sheldon that he could cross any line without consequences.<\/p>\n

His behavior worsened gradually.<\/p>\n

Eventually, he began stepping onto my driveway to inspect my belongings.<\/p>\n

That should have been the moment I stopped him.<\/p>\n

Instead, I only told him not to touch my property again before walking back inside.<\/p>\n

For several weeks, he kept his distance.<\/p>\n

Then Saturday arrived.<\/p>\n

I had stayed late at work the previous evening and intended to spend the morning doing absolutely nothing.<\/p>\n

After making coffee and putting on sweatpants, I walked toward the living room.<\/p>\n

The moment I glanced through the window, I froze.<\/p>\n

Sheldon\u2019s black SUV was parked directly in the center of my front lawn.<\/p>\n

He had driven over the curb, crushed the edge of my flower bed, and stopped between the vegetable garden and the walkway.<\/p>\n

Its heavy tires had carved deep tracks through grass I had spent months restoring.<\/p>\n

I nearly dropped my coffee.<\/p>\n

There were several empty parking spaces along the street.<\/p>\n

His driveway was completely vacant.<\/p>\n

Nothing prevented him from parking on his own property.<\/p>\n

There was no practical reason for the SUV to be on my lawn.<\/p>\n

He had done it simply because he wanted to prove that he could.<\/p>\n

I placed the mug on the counter and went outside.<\/p>\n

The ground remained saturated after three straight days of rain.<\/p>\n

With each step, my shoes sank slightly into the soft soil.<\/p>\n

I walked directly to Sheldon\u2019s house and rang his doorbell.<\/strong><\/h1>\n

He opened it almost immediately.<\/p>\n

He was already smiling.<\/p>\n

That expression revealed everything I needed to know.<\/p>\n

\u201cMove your car,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n

He casually rested against the doorframe.<\/p>\n

\u201cGood morning to you too.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYour SUV is on my lawn.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know where it is.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen move it.\u201d<\/p>\n

He glanced over my shoulder toward the vehicle.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had some work being done in my driveway.\u201d<\/p>\n

I turned to look.<\/p>\n

His driveway was empty, spotless, and unobstructed.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, you didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

His smile widened.<\/p>\n

\u201cPlans changed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is space on the street.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t want it scratched.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo you parked on my property and damaged my lawn?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a little grass, Amanda.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou drove over my flower bed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe flowers will grow back.\u201d<\/p>\n

I could only stare at him.<\/p>\n

For months, this man had complained about the color of my porch light, the appearance of my recycling area, and the height of my hedges.<\/p>\n

Now he had driven a two-ton vehicle across my property and expected me to accept it without protest.<\/p>\n

\u201cMove it now,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n

He laughed loudly enough to make it clear that he was enjoying the confrontation.<\/p>\n

\u201cRelax,\u201d he said. \u201cI promise I won\u2019t do it again.\u201d<\/p>\n

The mocking tone made his promise worthless.<\/p>\n

He expected me to keep arguing.<\/p>\n

I saw it in his expression.<\/p>\n

He wanted me to lose my temper so he could accuse me of being emotional and unreasonable.<\/p>\n

Instead, I smiled.<\/p>\n

\u201cHave a nice day, Sheldon.\u201d<\/p>\n

For half a second, his expression slipped.<\/p>\n

Then he offered a smug nod.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou too.\u201d<\/p>\n

I returned to my house.<\/p>\n

After locking the door, I stood in the kitchen until the trembling in my hands finally stopped.<\/p>\n

Then I reviewed the footage from my security system.<\/p>\n

I had installed the cameras after several packages were stolen from houses along our street.<\/p>\n

One of them recorded the driveway and most of the front yard.<\/p>\n

The video showed Sheldon leaving his house at 6:17 that morning.<\/p>\n

He checked both directions along the street, climbed into the SUV, reversed out of his own driveway, and drove straight across my lawn.<\/p>\n

There was no pause or hesitation.<\/p>\n

He did not need extra space.<\/p>\n

After parking, he stepped out, looked directly toward my front window, and smiled.<\/p>\n

Every part of it had been intentional.<\/p>\n

I immediately saved copies of the recording in three separate places.<\/p>\n

Next, I photographed the tire marks, the ruined flowers, and the exact position of the SUV.<\/p>\n

I also documented the empty curbside spaces and his completely clear driveway.<\/p>\n

My first instinct was to contact the police.<\/p>\n

My second was to call a towing company.<\/p>\n

Either choice would have been justified, but I wanted Sheldon to learn something more significant than the cost of a citation.<\/strong><\/h1>\n

I wanted him to understand that kindness and weakness were not the same thing.<\/p>\n

I called Elise, who held a position on the homeowners association board.<\/p>\n

I was not particularly fond of the HOA, but ours was small and generally limited itself to ordinary property disputes.<\/p>\n

When Elise answered, I described what had happened.<\/p>\n

She asked me to forward the photographs and video.<\/p>\n

I sent everything immediately.<\/p>\n

Five minutes later, she called again.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is unbelievable.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe says it is only grass.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is not only grass. He drove over your landscaping.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe has damaged part of my lawn.\u201d<\/p>\n

I asked whether the association could intervene.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can issue a violation for driving and parking on another owner\u2019s lot,\u201d she said. \u201cBut I need a formal complaint.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll send one.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGood. Also, Amanda?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDo not damage the vehicle.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI wasn\u2019t planning to.\u201d<\/p>\n

That answer was mostly honest.<\/p>\n

By that evening, Sheldon still had not moved the SUV.<\/p>\n

He came outside twice.<\/p>\n

The first time, he retrieved something from the back seat.<\/p>\n

Later, he stood on his porch speaking with another neighbor while repeatedly glancing toward my house.<\/p>\n

He was waiting for a reaction.<\/p>\n

I refused to give him one.<\/p>\n

Around nine o\u2019clock, I entered the garage and collected four portable lawn sprinklers.<\/p>\n

I had purchased them during the summer after reseeding the grass.<\/p>\n

They were small rotating models that attached directly to garden hoses.<\/p>\n

I also owned two hose splitters and a timer capable of controlling separate watering intervals.<\/p>\n

My plan was straightforward.<\/p>\n

I would not touch his SUV.<\/p>\n

I would not trap it using any physical barrier.<\/p>\n

I was simply going to water my own property.<\/p>\n

The soil was already soft after days of rainfall.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

I understood that additional water would make the ground even less stable, but Sheldon had knowingly parked a heavy vehicle there after three days of wet weather.<\/p>\n

That choice belonged entirely to him.<\/p>\n

At approximately 11:30 that night, nearly every house on the street had gone dark.<\/p>\n

I stepped outside quietly.<\/p>\n

One sprinkler went near the front tires, while another covered the rear.<\/p>\n

The remaining two were arranged along the ruts on either side of the vehicle.<\/p>\n

I kept the water aimed low so it soaked the ground rather than spraying the SUV itself.<\/p>\n

Then I connected everything to the timer.<\/p>\n

Twenty minutes of watering.<\/p>\n

Forty minutes without water.<\/p>\n

The sequence would continue throughout the night.<\/p>\n

After activating the system, I returned indoors.<\/p>\n

The first watering cycle began at midnight.<\/p>\n

From my bedroom window, I watched the sprinklers rotate over the grass.<\/p>\n

The soil surrounding the tires gradually turned darker.<\/p>\n

Small pools of water began collecting inside the tire tracks.<\/p>\n

By two in the morning, the SUV appeared to be resting slightly lower.<\/p>\n

By four, the wheels had sunk several inches into the softened ground.<\/p>\n

At six, the sound of an engine woke me.<\/p>\n

I put on my robe and walked to the front window.<\/p>\n

Sheldon was sitting behind the wheel, attempting to drive away.<\/p>\n

The front tires spun uselessly.<\/p>\n

Mud flew out behind them.<\/p>\n

The SUV managed to move less than a foot before sinking even deeper.<\/p>\n

He switched off the engine, climbed out, and examined the buried wheels.<\/p>\n

Then he turned toward my house.<\/p>\n

I went to make coffee.<\/p>\n

Five minutes later, someone began pounding on my door.<\/p>\n

I allowed Sheldon to knock twice more before I opened it.<\/p>\n

His face was bright red.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat did you do?\u201d<\/p>\n

I glanced past him toward the lawn.<\/p>\n

\u201cGood morning.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou flooded the lawn.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI watered my grass.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou trapped my car.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, Sheldon. You parked your car on wet soil.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou did this on purpose.\u201d<\/p>\n

I leaned casually against the doorframe, copying the exact posture he had used the previous morning.<\/strong><\/h1>\n

\u201cRelax. It\u2019s just a car.\u201d<\/p>\n

His mouth opened, but no sound came out.<\/p>\n

The words struck him exactly as I had intended.<\/p>\n

He pointed angrily toward the lawn.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou caused this.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI have video of you driving onto my property. I also have photos of the damage before the sprinklers ran.\u201d<\/p>\n

His expression changed instantly.<\/p>\n

He had not anticipated that I would possess proof.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou recorded me?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy security camera records my yard.\u201d<\/p>\n

His eyes moved toward the small camera mounted above the garage.<\/p>\n

When he spoke again, his voice was quieter.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou need to fix this.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo. You need to call a tow company.\u201d<\/p>\n

For several seconds, he remained there breathing heavily.<\/p>\n

At last, he turned around and walked away.<\/p>\n

The first tow truck arrived shortly after eight.<\/p>\n

The driver was a broad, stocky man named Luis.<\/p>\n

He examined the SUV, crouched beside the rear wheels, and circled the lawn twice.<\/p>\n

Sheldon stayed close behind him.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust pull it out,\u201d Sheldon said.<\/p>\n

Luis shook his head.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I hook from the street and drag it straight, I may tear the bumper or damage the undercarriage. The mud is holding it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen what do you suggest?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI need the recovery truck with a winch and ground mats.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow much will that cost?\u201d<\/p>\n

Luis quoted the price.<\/p>\n

Sheldon responded with a curse.<\/p>\n

By that point, several neighbors had gathered outside.<\/p>\n

No one had invited them.<\/p>\n

They had simply seen the tow truck and wandered over carrying coffee.<\/p>\n

Frank watched from the end of his driveway.<\/p>\n

Lawson stood on her porch.<\/p>\n

A few minutes later, Elise appeared with a folder under her arm.<\/p>\n

Sheldon noticed her and scowled.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat are you doing here?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI received a complaint,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course you did.\u201d<\/p>\n

Elise studied the SUV.<\/p>\n

\u201cDid you park this vehicle on Amanda\u2019s property?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was temporary.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was not my question.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sheldon glanced toward me.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Elise opened the folder.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe association rules prohibit driving or parking on another owner\u2019s lot without permission. The complaint includes video.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe turned the lawn into a swamp.\u201d<\/p>\n

Elise looked down at the saturated soil.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe weather report shows three days of rain before you parked there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe ran sprinklers all night.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOn her own property.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sheldon looked around as though expecting someone to defend him.<\/p>\n

No one said anything.<\/p>\n

Elise continued speaking.<\/p>\n

\u201cAmanda also submitted photographs showing damage to the flower bed and lawn. You are responsible for restoring the property.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe made it worse.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, the presence of your car made it worse. She simply watered her lawn. Your car caused the damage that you must pay for.\u201d<\/p>\n

Twenty minutes later, the second recovery truck arrived.<\/p>\n

It carried a powerful winch and several wide ground mats.<\/p>\n

Luis and the other driver positioned the mats around the SUV before attaching the winch from the road.<\/p>\n

Before beginning, Luis walked over to me.<\/p>\n

\u201cMa\u2019am, pulling it out may widen the ruts. We will do our best, but there will be more damage.\u201d<\/strong><\/h1>\n

\u201cCan you document it?\u201d<\/p>\n

He nodded.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe take photos before and after every recovery.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen go ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sheldon overheard the exchange.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy does she get to decide?\u201d<\/p>\n

Luis appeared genuinely confused.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause the vehicle is on her land.\u201d<\/p>\n

Several neighbors responded with quiet laughter.<\/p>\n

It took nearly forty minutes to free the SUV.<\/p>\n

Whenever the winch tightened, the mud clung to the tires and resisted the pull.<\/p>\n

The vehicle advanced only a few inches at a time.<\/p>\n

When the rear wheels finally reached the recovery mats, a loud, wet sucking sound echoed across the yard as they broke free from the soil.<\/p>\n

My lawn was devastated.<\/p>\n

Four deep trenches cut across the grass.<\/p>\n

Mud covered part of the walkway.<\/p>\n

Two areas of the flower bed had been flattened, and a small shrub leaned badly to one side.<\/p>\n

Sheldon stared silently at the damage.<\/p>\n

Then Luis handed him the bill.<\/p>\n

Sheldon examined the total.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is robbery.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d Luis said. \u201cThis is recovery.\u201d<\/p>\n

Frank lowered his face toward his coffee cup to hide his laughter.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Sheldon had no choice but to pay.<\/p>\n

The towing crew placed the SUV safely inside his own driveway.<\/p>\n

Afterward, Elise handed him the official HOA notice.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis includes the parking violation and responsibility for verified landscaping repairs,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou cannot force me to pay whatever she demands.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo one is asking you to. Amanda will get professional estimates, or you can obtain your own, as long as her lawn is repaired.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sheldon looked directly at me.<\/p>\n

I returned his stare with a polite smile.<\/p>\n

\u201cHave a nice day.\u201d<\/p>\n

He walked inside without replying.<\/p>\n

On Monday, a landscaper named Rosa came to evaluate the damage.<\/p>\n

Her estimate was not outrageous, but it was far from inexpensive.<\/p>\n

Sheldon disputed the amount.<\/p>\n

He then hired another landscaper to prepare an independent estimate.<\/p>\n

That estimate was slightly higher than Rosa\u2019s.<\/p>\n

In the end, he paid Rosa.<\/p>\n

He also covered the cleanup costs, the towing fee, the specialized recovery equipment, and the HOA fine.<\/p>\n

For the following two weeks, he did not say a single word to me.<\/p>\n

It was the most peaceful the neighborhood had been since the day I arrived.<\/p>\n

Sheldon had never truly believed that my lawn was public property.<\/p>\n

He had simply confused patience with weakness, and the misunderstanding had become a difficult and expensive lesson.<\/p>\n

Afterward, he stopped walking into my yard.<\/p>\n

He no longer moved my garbage cans.<\/p>\n

He quit offering opinions about my visitors, my porch lights, or my landscaping.<\/p>\n

Whenever he needed to discuss something involving the property line, he asked permission before approaching.<\/strong><\/h1>\n

There is no affection or friendship between us.<\/p>\n

I have no need for either.<\/p>\n

All I wanted was for the harassment to end, and eventually, it did.<\/p>\n

I had to prove that I was capable of responding far more strongly than he expected, and he understood the warning.<\/p>\n

What exists between us now is respect and a boundary that neither of us can pretend not to see.<\/p>\n

When someone repeatedly tests your limits, sometimes the most compassionate thing you can do for yourself is make those limits impossible to ignore.<\/p>\n

Was Amanda too tolerant of Sheldon\u2019s earlier behavior, or was it reasonable for her to ignore him until he crossed a clear physical boundary?<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I had overlooked my neighbor\u2019s constant criticism, repeated trespassing, and obsession with controlling everything because I wanted a peaceful life. But when he deliberately parked his SUV on my lawn … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":18247,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,15,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18537","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-family","category-inspiration","category-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/readingmydairy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18537","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/readingmydairy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/readingmydairy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readingmydairy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readingmydairy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=18537"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/readingmydairy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18537\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18538,"href":"https:\/\/readingmydairy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18537\/revisions\/18538"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readingmydairy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/18247"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/readingmydairy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=18537"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readingmydairy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=18537"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readingmydairy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=18537"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}