**Diary Entry 12th October**
Every morning, right on the dot, Id step out onto my porch to find the same odd little gifta fresh loaf of bread, neatly wrapped in plastic. The packaging had a bright label from some shop Id never heard of, the name sounding foreign, like it belonged to another country. Something about it felt off from the start.
At first, I reckoned it mightve been the neighbours. Maybe someone had noticed I lived alone and fancied doing a good turn. For a moment, it warmed my heartbut I still didnt touch the bread. Instinct told me nothing comes for free without a catch.
The next day, there it was againsame loaf, same wrapping, same spot. Then I wondered if it was some new council scheme for pensioners. But none of the neighbours had mentioned it, and no letter had come through the post.
By the third day, my nerves were frayed. The timing, the strange brandingnone of it sat right. I snatched up the loaf and marched down to the corner shop. The woman behind the counter gave me a look like Id lost the plot when I asked if they were running some bread delivery trial.
“Good Lord, no,” she said. “We sell bread, lovenot hand it out like charity.”
That only made it worse. Now I was proper rattled. What if it was poisoned? What if someone was trying to do me in?
On the fourth morning, I set up an old camcorderthe one I used to film the grandkids at Christmaspointed straight at the porch. When I played the footage back, my heart near stopped. Clear as day, at four in the morning, a drone floated silently to my door, hovered, dropped the loaf, and vanished into the dark.
That settled itno neighbour, no council. Something far stranger was afoot. Hands shaking, I bundled the camera and went straight to the police station.
The officers exchanged glances when I showed them the video. One of them stifled a smirk. “Blimey, mate, youve been roped into an experiment.”
Turns out some tech start-up was testing drone deliveries for bread, and my address had somehow ended up in their system. A few days prior, while fumbling with my phone to check the weather, Id clicked on an ad without realisingsigning up for a months trial.
They refunded me and cancelled the subscription, but the whole thing left a bad taste. I never did eat that bread. Something about those loaves just felt wrong.
**Lesson learned:** If something turns up on your doorstep out of the blue, chances are youve clicked something you shouldnt have. Bloody modern world.
