A Warning on the Door

By Thursday morning, the first notice was taped to my front door.

It was a white sheet in a clear sleeve, the kind the HOA liked to use when they wanted to pretend they were being polite. I stood there with my coffee and read it twice. Unapproved mailbox decal. Grass height exceeds covenant limit. Remove within 72 hours.

My mailbox was plain blue metal. The grass had been cut Sunday.

I took the paper off the door and crumpled one corner in my fist. Across the street, George was watering his begonias in a sweatshirt and gym shorts, looking like he’d been awake since dawn. He saw the paper in my hand and gave me a slow nod.

“Got one too?” he asked.

“Apparently I’ve become a menace to the neighborhood.”

He snorted once. “She’s working fast.”

That afternoon I sat at my kitchen table and watched the Facebook group. Maplewood Estates Neighbors had been quiet for months, mostly lost dogs and yard-sale posts. Now little hints were starting to show up between the pumpkin pictures.

Anyone else getting strange notices?

Package issues still happening?

Somebody’s got too much time and not enough proof.

Nobody named Sophia. Nobody bold enough to type it out.