The Neighbor's Watchful Presence

I never really talked to the guy next door. We just exchanged the usual polite

wave when we grabbed our mail. He seemed normal enough… maybe a little quiet.

Always wearing the same grey hoodie. Things got weird about a week ago. I woke up around

3 AM to get some water and glanced out my kitchen window into his backyard. It was completely

dark— until his motion sensor light flickered on. He was standing

there. Dead center on the grass. Facing my house. He wasn’t moving.

Not shifting his weight, not scratching his face— just standing perfectly

still with his arms at his sides. I watched him for twenty minutes. He didn’t twitch