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Enjoy the show. A few years ago I was renting a house in Northern California. The neighborhood was just outside

of the suburbs. It seemed like the perfect balance of having space and having nice neighbors

close enough not to feel isolated.

The area had no street lights.

It was very dark at night, especially if there were clouds blocking the moonlight. It didn't bother me though. It made

my little house feel a little more quaint on dark nights. I got home from work one day, midwinter. It was a cloudy night, so, pulling up to my house, I saw only what my

headlights and frontch Light illuminated.

When I got out of my car, I caught a whiff of cigarette smoke.

That was odd as I had never smelled that before around that house. I didn't see anyone nearby so I ignored it and

went inside. I had just got off a shift with a few hours of overtime so I was pretty tired.

Even though it wasn't seven yet, I decided to take a shower and call it a night.

I woke up sometime later, sure that I had heard a noise in my house.

I wasn't worried right away because my friend would sometimes stop by to use my shower after

work on his way to his midnight classes.

I even gave him a spare key so he could stop by even if I wasn't home.

He would always text me to let me know beforehand though, and I hadn't heard

my phone go off. I reached over to my bedside table and picked up my cell phone to see if my friend had sent me a

text. The bright light from the phone screen and number pad blinded me.

These were the days before phones had a light sensor that would dim the screen in the dark,

and this particular phone was so bright that I could use it as a flashlight.

...