01/07/2026
I was walking past my neighbor’s house the other night when I noticed the front steps were completely covered in packages. Boxes, grocery bags, deliveries stacked along the railing and up the stairs, all just sitting there like they’d been forgotten. At first I assumed they were out of town, but something felt off because some of the bags looked like food that definitely shouldn’t be sitting outside for that long.
The more I looked, the stranger it felt. None of the packages had been disturbed, no torn boxes, no signs anyone had checked on them. Then it hit me that I hadn’t actually seen my neighbor in over a week either. No lights on at night, no car coming or going, no movement at all. Just an endless supply of deliveries showing up to a house that clearly wasn’t answering the door.
I stood there a little too long, trying to convince myself it was normal, but the whole thing felt wrong. It was like the house was frozen in time while the rest of the street kept moving. I kept walking, but the image of those untouched packages stayed in my head, and now every time I pass that house, I can’t help but wonder what’s going on inside.
