The knock at the door was sharp, a staccato beat that made Sarah jump. She peered through the peephole. Mr. Henderson, from next door, stood on her porch, a hopeful smile plastered across his face. She slowly unlatched the door.
“Sarah, good to see you! Listen, I was wondering…” His voice trailed off, a nervous flicker in his eyes. He gestured towards the shared fence. “That patch of your yard, the one that gets the sun all day… I was thinking of… well, maybe I could use some of it for a garden?”
A prickle of something – not quite annoyance, not quite fear – ran up Sarah’s spine. Her grip tightened on the doorknob. The thought of a stranger, even a familiar one, working so close to her home, filled her with a strange, unpleasant sense. "What sort of garden were you thinking of?" she asked, her voice barely a whisper.
He launched into a detailed description of tomatoes and zucchini, his enthusiasm making her shoulders tense further. She managed a strained smile and said she'd have to consider it. After he left, Sarah immediately locked the door and slid the deadbolt. She went back to the living room, but the image of her yard, now potentially shared, continued to trouble her.