He thought he was just watching a harmless show from his balcony. Then his doorbell rang, and the woman across the street looked straight up at him.
The Lens
The brass barrel of the Meade telescope felt cool under Willie’s palms, a familiar, heavy comfort. From his twenty-eighth-floor balcony, the city was a grid of glowing cells, but Willie only cared for one. Twenty floors down, across the concrete chasm, her living room was bathed in warm amber light.
Tonight, she was painting. She was always doing something fascinating—reading old paperbacks, dancing with a glass of red wine, living a life entirely unburdened by the knowledge that a stranger was archiving her every movement. Willie adjusted the focus ring. Her face came into sharp relief. She was laughing at something on her phone.
He didn’t want to hurt her. He wasn’t a monster; he was just an audience member to the best show in the city. Entertainment, pure and simple.
Then, a sudden, sharp electronic chime shattered the terrace’s quiet.
Ding-dong.
Willie froze. His heart hammered against his ribs. It was 11:42 PM. He wasn’t expecting anyone. He slowly pulled his eye away from the rubber lens cup and turned toward his dark apartment.
Ding-dong.
Stepping inside, the sliding glass door clicked shut behind him. He crept across the hardwood floor toward the foyer. The peephole offered a fish-eye view of the empty hallway. No one was there.
Puzzled, Willie turned back toward the balcony. His gaze instinctively drifted across the expanse to her apartment. Through the bare glass, he could see her clearly, even without the telescope.
She was standing on her own balcony now. She wasn’t painting anymore. She was holding a phone to her ear, looking straight up at his building—straight at him. And in her other hand, she held a small, black remote control.
What Happens Next?
The chime rings a third time, echoing from somewhere inside his apartment walls. Does Willie open the door, or does he realize too late that the threat isn’t in the hallway? How do you think Willie’s story ends?
