Something happened in front of my house tonight

Something happened in front of my house tonight that I’ve never seen happen before, and I’m sort of reeling.<br><br>I live in the country. I mean, I really live in the country. I live *so* far in the country that you might have to get a boat to get to my place. I like it. It’s quiet. It’s peaceful. It’s great. I’ve lived here my whole life, in the same house that my dad grew up in. My dad has the house on the other side of the hill, and he’s lived there since he was a boy. My mom has a big family, so we are pretty spread out. My sister lives on the other side of the world, and my brother lives a couple of towns over. So when I was in high school and got sick after a couple of weeks, nobody was close by that I could ask to drive me anywhere, and I was pretty much stuck at home.<br><br>Schools around here don’t have a lot of kids, so I did most of my high school education in a bus. I got really sick though, and I guess I missed a lot of school. So when I got out of the hospital, they told me to do online classes instead. They figured I was too weak to handle the other kids on the bus. I was pretty grateful. I could sleep most of the day and still finish all my work, and I didn’t even have to get out of bed. It was great.<br><br>I’m better now, but I still prefer to stay inside. It’s not bad, I like it. I like having all of my stuff around me, and I’m not too worried about getting bored. I have my books, and my computer, and my tv. I even have my video game system, even though I don’t play it very much. I also like being able to look out my windows and see what’s going on outside. If I’m in one of those moods, I can just close the blinds and stay under the blankets with a book until someone comes to get me.<br><br>My mom used to worry that I would be socially stunted because of how isolated my life has been for so long, but I prefer it. I just get really overwhelmed when there’s too many people around me. Too much noise, too much talking, too much going on. I’m not the best with other people, and I prefer it this way. And besides, I’m not like a prisoner or anything. I still get to do whatever I want. I can leave whenever I want, and I can even just walk down the road or something if I feel cooped up. But I like it here. This is my place.<br><br>I like my routines too, and they don’t get in the way much. I’m usually asleep by 8pm, and I wake up by 9am. I get most of my work done in the morning, and then I have lunch and I read or do my hobbies in the afternoon. I like my routine, and I stick to it. But tonight, I wasn’t following it. It was a Friday night, and I was feeling bored. It’s not really that rare of a phenomenon for me, so I do have a routine for handling it. I got up and I made myself a sandwich. I walked out into the backyard and I threw the sandwich in the pond. I walked up to my house and I turned on the tv. <br><br>And then I got on my phone and I started scrolling. I saw that it was about 8:45pm. It was time for bed, but I was still feeling bored and restless. I looked up and I saw a vehicle coming up the road. It wasn’t one of my family members, and it certainly wasn’t one of the school buses. I wasn’t sure what to make of it. I stared out the window and watched as it came up the road and pulled over in front of my house. I thought it was strange, but it also seemed harmless, and I was still feeling restless. So I decided to go see what was going on.<br><br>I walked outside to my front porch. I looked out at the car, and I could see two people inside. One was driving, and one was in the passenger seat. I couldn’t make out who they were or where they were going, because the windshield was tinted, and their clothes were all black. I stood there for a minute, just watching them, and then I heard the car back up and turn around. I walked inside and got my phone, and I stepped back onto the porch just in time to see the car pull away. I pulled out my phone and dialed my brother’s number. I wasn’t sure what was going on, but I figured he could tell me.<br><br>“Hey,” I said when he picked up. “You aren’t going to believe what just happened.”<br><br>And then I told him. I told him everything. I told him that two mysterious cars pulled up in front of my house, and then they drove off. He listened to me without interrupting, and then he asked me a couple questions. I didn’t know the answers though, because I couldn’t see inside the car and I didn’t recognize the voices. He told me not to worry about it. He said that he would come by and check on me, and he told me to go back to bed and try to get some sleep. <br><br>I said that I was already back in bed, and he asked me if he could come up. I said yes, and he said he would be there in a few minutes. I waited for a bit, listening to the sound of the crickets outside my window and staring at the ceiling. It was sort of calming, but also weird. It had been a while since someone had come over and surprised me like that. And I was starting to get a little worried. I worried that something bad had happened, or that someone was sick. Or something else. I didn’t know what the case was, but I was starting to get a little spooked.<br><br>I sat up a little bit, and looked around my room. It was pretty dark out, so I couldn’t see much from the window, and I couldn’t see much of the hallway. It was just a dark outline. I heard a car pull up outside and I jumped a little bit. I knew it was my brother, but I still wasn’t expecting it. He knocked on the door, and I told him to come on in. I heard the front door open and close, and then my brother was standing in my doorway. I couldn’t see him very well in the dark, but I could hear that it was him.<br><br>He walked into my room and sat down on my bed, and I could tell that he was smiling a little bit. I asked him what was going on, and he didn’t say anything. He just sat there, and I could hear him chuckling a little bit. I asked him again, and he still didn’t answer me. He was just sitting there, and he was still chuckling a little bit. It was kind of weird. I asked him a third time, and he finally answered me.<br><br>“What the heck were you doing sitting on your bed at nine o’clock at night?” he asked me. “You’re gonna give your mom a heart attack,” he said, laughing a little bit. I was surprised. I had talked to my mom a little bit earlier in the day, and she had sounded okay. But maybe she had been acting strange and I had forgotten. I asked him if mom was okay, and he said that she was fine. He just thought it was weird that I was still awake.<br><br>“I was bored,” I told him. “What are you doing here?” “I was in the neighborhood,” he said. I wasn’t sure I believed him, but I didn’t push it. I was just glad that someone was there, and I was glad that my mom was okay. We talked for a little bit, and then he offered to drive me to get some food. I was still kind of bored, and I decided that I could wait a few minutes to get something to eat. I asked if he wanted to stay and hang out with me instead.<br><br>“I already ate,” he said. “But you could come with me if you want.” I said no, and we sat in silence for a while. I asked if he wanted to play a game with me or something, and he said sure. I pulled out a card game that my grandma had given me when I was younger, and we played it for a little bit. Then I pulled out my art supplies and we drew pictures. He was kind of bad at drawing, but I thought it was cute.<br><br>I fell asleep at some point, and I woke up a little while later. I don’t know how long it had been, but I felt kind of groggy. I got up and I went into the bathroom to wash my hands, and then I walked into the kitchen to see if there was anything to eat. That’s when I saw it. I saw a piece of paper sitting on the counter, with a note on it. It read: “I hope you had a good time tonight. I’m glad you’re feeling better. Love, [your brother].” I stared at the note in