The door was wide open behind the screen door, as we're having unseasonably warm Halloween. I knocked softly on the door jamb. I heard some hissing, so I knew they were home and figured they were in another room.
But then I noticed a dark menacing silhouette, about 5 yards away, which seemed to be staring at me from 2 slitty glowing yellow eyes. I waited for about thirty seconds and knocked again. There was nothing, then 5 seconds later a “shhh, shhh,” sound. The figure remained still. I could hear people in the house, and other noises, unplaceable, and knocked again.
I focused my gaze beyond the screen and could make out 4 furry, ibex or goat-like human figures sitting on Thonet chairs around a J. Hoffmann Wiener Werkstätte black table. A rare oxblood red porcelain and metal farmhouse pulley lamp hung down barely 2 feet above the table, brightly illuminating 4 Chinese bronze gilt Hundred Tongzi bowls, which seemed to be filled with twigs and moss. The hissing was now almost a kind of singing, or, yes, chanting. The beastly human creatures remained in shadow.
Finally the standing figure steps forward and opens the screen door. “Shush baby is asleep,” he hisses.
“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t know that was directed at me. These are for the little ones,” I apologise.
“Yeah,” he said, and grabbed my autumnal barbotine plate of cupcakes and slams the screen door while receding by moving backwards, but not turning, keeping his yellow eyes fixed on me. I could see no steps, he appeared to be on hovering backward.
The kicker? He’s a successful Only Fans porn whore, and his occasional invited guests are beautiful young men. I've NEVER seen a woman around this house. "Baby"? I shudder. Who's the other father?
Happy fucking Halloween. See this is why I shouldn’t have broken my standard practise of pretending my neighbour don’t exist.