Chapter 1

The first day of the next winding episode of my life began much as the last had ended, on an apparently normal day amidst an apparently normal world. After finishing my morning run and laps, I was knee deep in boxes reorganizing the garage for the hundredth time. At the low whine of a small engine, I looked up to watch a compact car drive past just as a chilly winter gust swirled around me. A typical January day, the cold air matched the gray skies and the waving branches of the leafless trees. With a subdued squeal of brakes, the car pulled into the driveway next door.

Finally, somebody was moving into the old Harris place. The Harrises were a pleasant couple who had lived in the older, brick-fronted two-story home until Kenneth passed away. Shortly afterwards, his widow left for California to live with her kids. Ever since then, all through the fall and as winter approached, the house had remained for sale. At last, when the sign finally came down, I expected the buyers to appear, but that had been several weeks ago.

But here they were. Bundled in hats, coats, and gloves, a slight man, a petite woman, and a college-aged girl piled from the vehicle to look around. When they saw me, I waved. While staring at me, clad only in shorts and a t-shirt, and muttering amongst themselves, they hesitantly returned my gesture. The cold no longer bothered me—it hadn’t for quite a long time. Any explanation from me was cut short when, at an approaching rumble, they looked past me to track a large, white moving truck. Once it halted before their new home, they became immersed in unloading. Since time was short, I finished up and wandered inside to change before heading to the airport for an afternoon flight.

As I slid into the airport parking garage, I sighed; I never enjoyed traveling in winter. However, an old friend needed help in Vegas, so off I went. The week of training the team flew by, and, far too soon, I found myself back in the land of gray, dead trees, zipping back to my quiet home.

Nestled against thick woods on a cul-de-sac, the house had served me well; an unremarkable two-story home in a nondescript suburb. Other than the neighboring house, with its newly arrived family, a row of homes was just visible on a low ridge, through the leafless woods behind my property. Two other homes were across the wide cul-de-sac, but I hardly ever saw the residents.

After pulling into my driveway, I looked over at my new neighbors. As Christmas music played, they were breaking down boxes in their garage. No time like the present. Leaving my suitcase in the car, I sauntered over to meet them.

“Hi, I’m Jim.”

After turning to stare up at me, the man grinned and came forward to shake my outstretched hand. “Hi, Jim. I’m Charles and this is my wife, Mandy. The little one under the big hat is my daughter, Susan.”

Charles was a slender, pale man, full of nervous energy and quick to explain he was an important company officer in an international accounting firm. His wife, slim and petite, had raven black hair, shiny blue eyes that gleamed up at me, and somehow managed a tan in the depth of winter. Home from college for the holidays, Susan was only slightly taller than her mother and also slender. Loose strands of bleached blonde hair waved from her knit cap, framing an almost angelic face. Like her mother, her warm brown eyes also shined at me.

All three were much shorter than my tall frame. Though still in my lightweight clothes from Vegas, I helped them break down some of the larger boxes, catching a few furtive glances from both Mandy and Susan. I figured they were confused by my utter disregard for the chilly winter weather. Charles seemed oblivious, talking on about his company as he worked.

Once we finished, they headed out for dinner while I walked inside to unpack and make my own meal. And that was the first and last encounter I had with any of them for a long time. For a while, I actually thought they were Vamps, or something similar, since, for the rest of the winter, I rarely caught sight of the trio.

However, several weeks later, in mid-February, I started to notice slight movements of the curtains or fleeting shadows in their windows whenever I swam in my backyard pool. After decades, well centuries to be perfectly honest, of water operations, I could swim all year round and the cold had no effect on me. Thus, irrelevant of the weather, every morning, I finished my five-mile run and walked to the pool, stripping off my shorts and shirt. After my daily laps, I’d clamber into the hot tub and hydrate before heading inside to get ready for my day.

When I first noticed the gentle sway of curtains or a shadow moving inside their home, I thought nothing of it. At worst, I was giving somebody a free show of a scarred old man and his half-broken body. Bored, after a while, I added a little flourish to my moves and took my time drying myself before leaving. After the past couple of years, it was fun to be watched again.