"Neighbors" is ostensibly about a hidden world accessible only to certain people when they realize time doesn't matter and are therefore free of the constraints of time. It's also a story about memory, aging and the importance of seeing and knowing people. The protagonist, Sarah, finds which memories are worth keeping, and which she can let go. From the outside she's degenerating into senility or Alzheimer's, but in her mind she's taking with her the things that matter most.

Sarah’s detachment from the present leads her to become “completely unhooked from time,” realizing it no longer applies to her: “Why not shop for groceries at one in the morning, or read the day’s news at eight o’clock at night while eating a microwaved dinner? Time doesn’t matter!