PART 1 — THE CAMERA THAT KNEW TOO MUCH

The camera itself didn't bother me at first.

My neighbor, Melissa, installed several security cameras after someone broke into a car two streets over.

Completely understandable.

Then she started knowing things she shouldn't know.

One Sunday morning, she saw me collecting mail and said:

“You had people over pretty late last night.”

I laughed.

“Yeah, some friends stayed for dinner.”

“Until almost midnight.”

The way she said it felt strange.

But I ignored it.

A week later, my sister visited.

The next day Melissa said:

“Your sister drives fast.”

I stopped.

“How do you know that was my sister?”

She smiled.

“You two look alike.”

Her camera was mounted on the corner of her house.

I finally looked at its angle.

It wasn't primarily facing her driveway.

It was pointed across the fence toward my backyard and side entrance.

A few days later, I was having coffee on my patio when the camera moved.

Not metaphorically.

The lens

physically rotated toward me.

I stood up.

It moved again.

I walked to the fence.

“Melissa?”

She came outside.

“Can you point your camera away from my patio?”

She frowned.

“It covers my property.”

“It's pointed at me.”

“It has a wide field of view.”

“I just watched it rotate.”

“It's motion tracking.”

“So turn off the tracking toward my yard.”

She crossed her arms.

“Why? What are you doing back there that you're so worried about?”

That was the moment the conversation changed.

“I'm sitting in my own backyard.”

“Then there shouldn't be a problem.”

“There is a problem. You're monitoring my yard.”

She laughed.

“You're paranoid.”

I walked away.