Elias smiled. He didn't need the app to answer. He opened his front door just as the hooded figure was reaching for the doorbell. “The letter E,” Elias said.
The “Head Game” was a psychological gauntlet. To win, neighbors had to solve puzzles that required intimate knowledge of their own homes and each other’s histories. It was a test of observation, memory, and wit.
“I am the beginning of everything and the end of everywhere. I am the beginning of eternity, the end of time and space. What am I?”
“I have a face but no eyes. I have a tongue but cannot taste. What am I?”
The NextDoor app went quiet as Maya posted the final video. The "Head Game" was over, leaving Oakhaven a little more connected—and a lot more suspicious of their own porches—than it had been an hour before.
He looked out his blinds. A figure in a dark hoodie was standing on the sidewalk, illuminated only by the glow of a tablet. Elias checked the app again. The comment section was exploding.