LOTTIE GATHERED HERSELF before nearing the place that was her home. It was secluded, dead bushes mocking its pebbled path. All was silent, as it often was, but the porch steps creaked with age. Shivering, she reached for the doorknob, the brisk air teasing her. 

Only, that was when she heard footsteps. "Charlotte?" 

When she heard her nickname, Lottie whirled around to face her neighbor. "Don't sneak up on me like that! I could've had a heart attack!"

"At twenty-something?" She chuckled softly, fidgeting with her leathered bracelet. "I don't think so."

"Twenty-three." Having a stare-down, a smile slipped over her face. "Well, what is it you want, Penny?"

Suddenly, she narrowed her eyes, looking her over. "That was you, wasn't it?"

"What do you mean?" Lottie asked stiffly. "What was me?"

"I found footprints in my backyard this morning when I went to water my garden. I followed them... and they led from your yard and back. If we didn't have knee-tall grass, I wouldn't have noticed." Then Penny paused, shifting on her feet. "If it was, I won't be upset, but was that you?"

Lottie only shook her head. 

For a moment, Penny studied her only to sigh and look away. "Well, if it wasn't you, who was it? And why did they come from your place?" She turned back to her, barely collected. "Charlotte, but that's not all."

Lottie tilted her head, considering, then stumbled down her porch. "What else happened?"

"There were muddy fingerprint markings on my backyard window. If not for those, I would have thought nothing of the footprints." With that, she scoffed. "By the time I saw this, you had already gone to work."

"Penny," Lottie said, putting a hand over her shoulder, "it wasn't me, but know this: they're long gone. If this happened last night, why didn't they do anything?"

"I suppose you're right." Standing short and hunched, Penny's dark grey eyes searched hers. "Well, then I guess I better get back to... whatever it was I was doing." With a soft exhale, the woman nearly began away when she paused. "On another note, Charlotte..."

"Yes?"

She gave a genuine smile. "I think it has really healed over the years." Then, in the next moment, she disappeared around the tall-standing bushes that parted their homes.

There was a stutter to her step as Lottie reached the front door. After coming to a pause, she felt the side of her face, remembering that day. "It was long ago, Lottie." The long slash over her right cheek was faint, tickling just under her eye. "Long ago."

Upon entering, the smell of fresh strawberry greeted her, as well as the cool air from within. In the background, the air conditioner murmured, but all else was silent. 

"You know," Lottie began, finding a spot on the living room couch, "at first I didn't like it, but maybe this scent was worth the money." 

Then, leaning back, she looked down at her phone. 7:10 pm. If she hadn't been away since 6:30 am, she wouldn't have leaned back and closed her eyes. As she lost to sleep, her neighbor's words echoed in her mind:

Well, if it wasn't you, who was it?

-

Her phone suddenly chirped to life. 

Snapping awake, she peered around the room in a daze. When she registered that it was well into the evening, the darkness seeping through the windows, she finally looked down at her phone. 8:25 pm. But only when she saw the caller ID did she groan. 

"Lottie?" came the upbeat voice. "This is a matter of urgency."

"I got off work an hour and a half ago, but I've been working all day," she said, biting back choice words. "I'm drained, so no, Joseph, I don't want to hang out. And considering I'm your Culver's co-worker, I see enough of you as it is."

"We only live ten minutes apart by foot, but that's not the poi-"

"Sometimes," she began, running a hand down her face, "I wish I had gone to college. Working two fast food joints just isn't living."

"Lottie-"

"Goodbye." 

"Wait!" Joseph insisted, raising an octave. "It's just that-"

"This isn't anything urgent, is it?" Sighing, she stifled a dry laugh. "Well, Joseph, the answer's no. I will not go out with you."

"Why are you like this? Why do you think every guy is just longing for you as a girlfriend?" he grunted, then paused for effect. "You might think you're all that, but you're really not."

"So, that's not what this is about?" Lottie asked, raising a brow. When met with silence, she snickered. "Joseph?"

"Just let me explain-"

"Then goodbye." And she hung up the phone. 

-

Lottie slept easy that night, so when the first knock came she barely stirred. But when it came again, she opened an eye and looked to her red-numbered clock. 2:28 am. With a shiver, she jolted upright and listened.

Knock.

"Joseph, if that's you..." she muttered, quietly leaving her bed, but then she remembered those footprints. 

All was dark, as she had outgrown a nightlight long ago. On her way to the door, she felt around, determined not to fall over. "I ain't dying today. Especially not in my own home."

In a bout of frustration, she opened the front door, only to stagger back. "Why are y-you here?"

Penny peered over her shoulder, her breaths short and ragged. "I just thought you should know... that-"

"What?" Lottie pressed. 

"Someone snuck around your house, and I think they're still here," she said, hugging herself. "I don't know of their intent."

The woman paled, taken aback. Then, in the next moment, she brushed past her and looked out into the night. From the soft murmur of a breeze to the chirping of lowly grasshoppers, nothing seemed amiss. 

"They could be in the-"

"-back." Lottie, mustering a smile, patted her neighbor on the shoulder. "Penny, thanks for waking me up, but there's no sense in keeping me company. You've done your part."

"Charlotte, for the last three years I've been your neighbor," the old woman snapped, raising a finger. "I've yet to lose a neighbor and I'm not about to start now."

Lottie scowled but softened with a huff. "Fine, but I need to get my flashlight."

-

The chill air hummed in the background, out of place. As she trudged around the house, her beam of light revealed the scene ahead. Nothing; not a soul. Her hammock, tied up to a pair of trees, swung slightly, creaking into the night. 

Lottie held her breath, giving the yard a more thorough look, then taunted around her house once more. No one. In the same manner, she searched her neighbor's yard before doing so a second time. 

But there was still no one. 

With a long sigh, Lottie ascended her own porch steps, rubbing at her eyes. I have work in about four hours. 

Penny, out of breath, stopped and watched her from below. "Well, I'll let you know if I hear anything more." Then, about to turn back, she gave a small nod. "Night, Charlotte."

"Wait," Lottie tried, holding up a hand, "were there any cars parked nearby? Any that aren't here anymore?"

Penny shook her head. "No, but I do know this: there was somebody here." She searched her eyes, her own narrowed. 

"Why were you even awake this late?"

The woman only stared back before dismissing around the bushes to her own home. "See you tomorrow."

Lottie shivered, watching her leave, and was once more all alone. Something seemed off about her neighbor, but she could never figure out what it was; not like it was her business. With a final look around, she retired inside. 

She flipped on the switch. Her living room lit up at once, everything in its rightful place; from her cup of tea on the end table beside her chair, now cold and abandoned, to her shoes adjacent to the door. It was only then that she looked down and let out a sigh. With what went on, she hadn't even put on her shoes, her socks now strained with green. She took them off with a sigh, tossing them aside. 

Lottie stumbled to the couch, torn and well-used, and took a seat. She knew better than to go to bed, so she reached for the remote on the chair and hovered over the power button. Then she paused, considering, and returned it with a toss. 

"Ever wise," she mumbled, scolding herself. With that, she ran a hand down her face, deciding to go to bed. The last thing she wanted was to regret it tomorrow. "And to think it's only Tuesday."

Before checking into bed, however, she took a look at the windows. If her neighbor had muddy fingerprints on hers, maybe she did too. Only, after a careful examination, she saw nothing. 

As she made her way down the narrow hallway, she stopped before the door at the end, which led to her bedroom. Then, composing herself, she looked at the mirror to her left and felt the side of her face. 

It was long ago...

Hello! I hope this chapter was enjoyable, but if not, please let me know what could be better. The more criticism, the better. 

 Anyway, I wish you all the best. May God bless you! <3

Random question: What are your favorite emojis?