For a while he forgot the silence of the house, forgot the neighbors, lost in the steady rhythm of water and waiting. When he returned that afternoon, he slipped back into his routine. He made tea, read the paper, walked outside to test the pool.
At first glance, nothing seemed amiss. The water rippled gently, the sunlight casting its usual shimmer. He skimmed the surface, checked the chlorine, and went back inside. But over the following days, something shifted.