For Years, My Neighbor’s 15-Minute Routine Drove Me Crazy. The Truth Was Hilariously Simple

At exactly 4 p.m. every single day, Oscar’s car pulls into the driveway. Without fail, he vanishes inside for precisely fifteen minutes—not a second more, not a second less—before reemerging as though nothing happened. On the days Emma is home, she slips in with him. And always, like clockwork, the moment they cross the threshold, every curtain in the house is drawn tight. For years, I tried to ignore it, but the strangeness gnawed at me. Eventually, my curiosity won. One afternoon, when a single curtain was left open, I finally decided to take a look inside…

I’ve lived in this neighborhood for ten years. Ten years of mowing lawns, collecting Amazon packages off the porch, and exchanging awkward nods with people who pretend they don’t hear me say “Good morning.” But through all those years, there’s been one thing that’s driven me half-crazy: my neighbors, Oscar and Emma, and their bizarre daily ritual.

At exactly 4 p.m. every single day, Oscar pulls into the driveway. He disappears inside for fifteen minutes — not fourteen, not sixteen, but fifteen on the dot — and then he’s gone again like nothing happened. If Emma’s off work, she joins him. And without fail, the second they step inside, boom — curtains closed.

Weekends? Same thing. Curtains closed. Rain, snow, blazing heat? Same thing.