We saw a vandalized house on top of a hill as we drove through Tecopa. And then we slammed on the brakes. There was a figure standing in the doorway, watching us. The figure turned out to be an illusion. It was just a panel of torn plywood that happened to look like the silhouette of a person holding a hand to a hip. Yet it still called out for an image. I took a vantage point that half obscures the mysterious figure in the doorway, further abstracting it, as well as stressing the dilapidated context of the door itself. The longer I look at this image, the more it seems as if I am looking at a person. And that’s because I want to see that big black shape cut into the wall as a person. Our minds will dictate the content and meaning of such an image, not the facts. The peeling door is haunting as well. It has a window in it, but someone wanted to add more light, so he or she punched another opening just below the window. The figure was still standing there looking at us as we drove away. And because of this photograph, it always will be there, just beyond the front door.