19.08.2024, 6:07pm

As I pull into the cobblestone driveway, I notice it’s a full moon. The moonlight is illuminating the full elevation of the house. The silver light shimmers off the battens, and the shadows from the trees move along the screens.

Making my way up to the entry, the dull glow where each step has become polished with use catches my eye, and reaching for the front door handle, I note that the leather has begun to patina. As I step over the threshold, the moonlight is extending into the main space through the open screens to the east. It gently washes over the floor and lights a sliver of the wall at the opposite side of the kitchen.

The house is empty and almost silent, other than the sounds of the distant ocean and my footsteps over the timber floor.