evening. The final stretch
of road ran through thick trees, and when we reached the property, it looked exactly as promised. It was a neat one-story house with a gravel driveway and flower boxes beneath the windows. The key was in a lockbox by the door, just as the host had described. Inside, the place smelled faintly of cedar and fresh cleaner. A framed note on the kitchen counter welcomed us and gave us the Wi-Fi password. We laughed at how ordinary and harmless it all seemed.
The house
