It was another normal day in the suburbs. Bob had gotten up fairly early for once (here meaning ‘before 11’) and had decided that today was the day he would finally get around to doing some yard work. His first choice had been mowing the lawn, since Bob had a riding mower and that seemed to him like the least amount of work, but the damn thing wouldn’t start. He might’ve taken that as an excuse to just give up on the idea of yard work at all, but he honestly felt kind of bad and figured he should do something. The leaf blower, as it turned out, started just fine.
Really, it was past time that Bob got all the dead leaves from last fall out of his yard. Specifically, it was May. I’ll feel so much better once this is done, Bob thought. Now my yard won’t be the crummiest one on the block. Bob carefully guided the swirling leaves across his front lawn and onto his neighbor’s. When he was done, the yard next door, formerly clean, was a leaf-strewn mess, but his own yard was spotless (or, well, leafless). Bob surveyed his work with pride. Of course, it kind of screwed the neighbor over, but Bob figured he probably wouldn’t mind. Hell, maybe he wouldn’t even notice!
This was what Bob was thinking about when something caught his eye. Looking up at the house next door, he saw that the curtains in the front window were parted ever-so-slightly – just wide enough for an eye to see out of. Not more than a second after he looked, the curtains quickly closed. He’d been seen.
Bob felt the slightest twinge of worry. That house was the home of one Mr. Andras, who was so much of a recluse that Bob didn’t even know what he really looked like. He was always shut in that house, doing…things. Bob didn’t really know what he did all day. I’m sure he’ll let it slide, though. It’s not really THAT big a deal. I mean, it’s not as bad as that time I knocked over his mailbox, or broke his window that time when I was drunk, and he didn’t say anything all those times I had loud parties until 4 AM… Bob assured himself that there was nothing to fear. So what if everyone else was afraid of the guy? How could he do anything if he never left his house? Though he had to admit, there was something creepy about the weird recluse…
That night, Bob slept soundly, unaware of strange lights coming from the house next door. He had finally crossed the line, and he was going to pay. The mysterious man next door would make sure of that. When Bob woke up the next morning, he was in for quite the shock indeed.
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