Outstanding Balance

A Micro Fiction March Week Three Prompt Response

The house was identical to the others on the street. Beige siding. White shutters. A maple tree in the front yard that had been planted too recently to matter yet.

Three days after the move, someone knocked on the door.

The man on the porch wore a dark suit despite the heat. He carried a leather folder tucked under one arm. His smile was warm in the careful way of someone who’d practiced it for a long time.

“Good evening,” he said. “I’m here from the Homeowners Association.”

He handed over a sheet of paper.

Grass height exceeded the permitted limit.
Trash receptacle visible from the street.
Mailbox painted an unapproved shade of white.

The list continued past the property lines.

Failure to return your sister’s call the night before her surgery.
Looking away when the dog wandered into traffic.
Agreeing to license agreements you did not bother to read.

“There must be some mistake,” the homeowner said.

“Not at all,” the man replied gently. “Everyone receives one.”

Across the street a woman watered a bed of roses that had already died. The stems were brittle and gray, their petals long gone, but she continued pouring carefully from a green plastic can.

Farther down the block a man knelt in his driveway, scrubbing the same dark stain in frantic circles. The concrete was already pale with soap. The stain remained.

“Most residents find the system fair,” the visitor continued. “Each violation carries a modest fine. Payment plans are available.”

“And if I refuse to pay?”

The man’s smile didn’t change.

“The balance will simply follow you.”

He turned and walked down the sidewalk toward the next house.

At the bottom of the page, beneath the long column of fines, a final line had been typed in small print.

Welcome back.