For three years, Martha lived beside Nelly, a reclusive woman whose silence seemed to echo through the walls of her modest home. Rumors drifted through the neighborhood like smoke — whispers of a missing child, a mysterious past, a woman hiding more than just her face. When Martha, ever warm and neighborly, brought over cookies to introduce herself, Nelly barely cracked the door before muttering, “Now’s not a good time.” Even sweet Mrs. Freddie from across the street was turned away with her famous cherry pie. Still, Martha couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong, though her husband Evan dismissed it as idle gossip.