He stumbled into his house and went straight to sleep. It had been a long week, despite what he had said to Kevin a few days before.

It was late in the afternoon the next day before he was up and moving again. Feeling the warmth of the Florida sun on his face, he woke up and went to his backyard.

He sat propped up by a tree and looked out in the direction of the water. The salt breeze and the rippling waters reminded of his cruise, reminded him of Cairo. Taking a deep breath, he stood up and walked around, surveying the condition of his lawn. It looked like it could be watered.

He looked around, over at his neighbor's house, and noticed that finally someone had moved it. It had been vacant for quite sometime, it would be interesting to have neighbors again.
He yawned, then returned to his house. He was still way too tired to think about doing anything right now.

* * * *

It was two weeks later when Nick was walking out to his car when he glanced over to his neighbors. So far, he hadn't seen much of them, but he could hear them a lot. They were always on the phone arguing, and it was pretty loud. Nick tried not to eavesdrop, so he usually put on some loud music to block out their conversation.

But now, it wasn't a conversation that he was hearing, but a soft clear voice singing a song that he recognized. He listened closer, and realized that it was from the Wizard of Oz. The woman had a really pretty voice.

He walked slower to his car, listening to the song. Then he realized that he was being nosey, so he walked faster to his car and jumped in.

After making the 20-minute drive to meet Brian and AJ, they headed to the nearest basketball court.

"So, Nick, what's new with you?" Brian said, tossing him the ball.

"Not much. I have a neighbor now," he said, pulling the thought from the top of his head.

"That sucks man. No more skinny dipping for you!" said AJ, joking.

"You mean for you. I've caught you a few times, you know AJ," Nick shot right back.

"Yeah, yeah. So, what's so interesting about this new neighbor?" Brian asked.

"I never see her. She never leaves! But I can hear her yell all the time, so I know she's there," Nick said.

"She? Thought you didn't know anything about her!"

"I heard her singing this morning. Definitely a she," Nick commented.

"Anyway, our new single come out in two weeks. Then we shoot the video, then we have a week, then we promote it," Brian said. Nick groaned.

"I hate promos," he said.

"Don't we all?" AJ said.

* * * *

After spending the afternoon with Brian and AJ, Nick was glad to be home. He pulled up in his driveway, and noticed that his new neighbor was out.

She was standing looking into the trunk of her car. Nick watched as she picked up a bunch of boxes, stacking them up. She slammed the trunk shut, then bent over to pick them up. She turned around, and Nick saw that the boxes went up past her head.

Well, there's no time like the present to meet the new neighbors, Nick thought, getting out of his car to help his new neighbor with her burden.

* * * *

Good-byes were terrible. Absolutely terrible. Saying goodbye to Lacey at the airport was one of the most horrible things that Cairo ever had to do. They stood at Lacey's gate for twenty minutes, hugging each other and crying.

And now, Cairo's waterfront house was incredibly empty. She walked all around the spacious, airy rooms, feeling how incredibly empty it was and she never felt lonelier.

But that's what you wanted, she kept telling herself. The three extra bedrooms were completely empty, and hers only had her new bed. The rest of her furniture hadn't arrived yet, so her house was bare of everything but the bare essentials. A stove, a fridge, her bed and her couch.

It was very unfriendly, very un-welcoming. Cairo lasted a week in the drab house before she decided to raid a paint store, and to liven up her walls before the rest of her furniture got there, and she'd have to move everything.

Her living room was a bright purple, her room...well, each wall was a different shade of blue, her kitchen was a sunny yellow and the spare rooms...Well, she got really bored, so they became splashes of color.

After three full days of painting, Cairo collapsed into her new bed and slept the day away. That's when it began.

It started with one phone call. It was her parents.

"I don't still don't understand why you insist of living in that place. Come back home, sweetie," her mother pleaded.

"Mother, I'm old enough to take care of myself. I'm old enough to live by myself. I've only been financially dependent from you since my first novel was published. I can handle this. I can handle everything. And if I can't, then I'm going to learn how. That's why I'm here," she explained.

"But why so far away? If anything were to happen, we wouldn't be there!" her mother reasoned.

"Again, that is why I'm doing this. I want to learn how to depend on myself. Only. I don't need you and Daddy rushing to stand by my side over everything I do! I'll be okay," Cairo said.

Then it was her brother.

"Carrie, stop being so selfish and just come home," he demanded.

"I'm not being selfish, I'm being practical," Cairo reasoned.

"No, you're being a selfish, spoiled little brat. Do you have any idea how upset mom is? She cries a lot, and is really depressed. You were the youngest, the last to leave. And now you're completely gone. I'm at least in the same country. Just break down and come home," he said.

"David, why can't you support me on this? I was the one who convinced mom and dad that Jill was the right woman for you to marry, you owe me this much. Don't you understand? You went to school, they let you go. But right now, I want to focus on my writing, not rush into University. I want to know if this is what I want to do with my life, or if there's anything else for me to do. But they're not accepting this, and they're making it harder on themselves. Please, just talk to them. Tell them I'll be alright?" she asked.

"I can't do that, Carrie, because I don't know if you are or not. I think you should come home, before you completely destroy the relationship you have with your family. And, most importantly, what about Brad?" he asked.

"What about him?"

"I saw him the other day. Carrie, you haven't even phoned him since you left, and it's been three and a half weeks! Call him!" he said showing hints of his anger.

"He didn't even come to say goodbye to me. I have nothing to say to him," Cairo said calmly.

"For good reason! You left him! He has every right to be angry! Stop being stubborn and come home," David said, hanging up.

It went on from there. Two times a day at least, she got a call from one of her relatives, all of them trying to convince her to return. Cairo began to feel angry.

"Why is it that you, all of you, don't think that I can do this? You all doubt me, and it's making me even more determined to prove you wrong. I said six months, at the least, and no matter what you say, I'll see you in six months!" Cairo yelled, finally giving into the anger that had been building up for four days. She slammed down the phone, and retreated to her back yard.
It was a marvel in itself. It opened on the water, and Cairo found herself spending most of her time sitting beneath her fantastic willow tree, just staring off into space, but more often, typing away at her newest story.

She didn't know what it was, but something had reopened the doors, and the words were just flowing now. She was writing pages per day, and it was getting to the point that she had to tear herself away from the computer to sleep, and she had to force herself to stop long enough so that she could eat.

It was so exhilarating for her to be writing again. It was like a blind person being able to see again. She observed everything around her, and found so many ideas to put into her story.

But at night, she dreamed. The dreams were confusing, and all though they weren't nightmares, she found herself waking in the middle of the night, bathed in sweat, terrified. She'd get up and gaze out the French doors from her bedroom, and on really warm nights, sitting on her balcony, just watching the lights from the house glitter off the water.

She couldn't figure out what the dreams meant. She was walking in a forest, and no matter which direction she took, she always found herself catching her foot in an animal trap. Cairo began to write into the early hours of the morning, only sleeping when she was so exhausted that her body couldn't stay awake any longer, and she collapsed on the floor, falling into a deep dreamless sleep.

She had been in her new house for almost a month. Her new manuscript was almost half finished. Cairo woke up that morning, realizing that she had spent all of her time in her house. She was becoming a recluse. It was time for her to get out, and wander around this new city of hers.

The first place she found herself was, surprisingly, an electronic store. After a few hours of debating, she found herself the proud new owner of a new television set, DVD player and stereo system. On her way out, she noticed a display for an N64 system, and paused, wistfully thinking about the days she had spent with Neil.

It was the first time that Cairo had allowed herself to think of him. She had tried hard to avoid the subject whenever possible, continually telling herself that she would probably never see him again. Except maybe on a few magazine covers and music videos, she thought to herself, remembering his true identity. Then she smiled, remembering the look of astonishment on his face when she blew his cover.

After her spree at the electronic store, Cairo met with a cousin that was living in Orlando, who had found her house for her.

"Beth, has anyone spoken to you at all?" Cairo asked good-naturedly.

"No, no one. They are all still mad at me for helping you find your house. I hope they got over it soon, it's almost Easter and I was supposed to stay with your parents," Beth said, laughing. Cairo sighed. After having lunch with her cousin, she decided that she had been out long enough.

Pulling into her driveway, she opened her trunk and then saw a dilemma. She had about six boxes, and they were all huge. Sighing, she pulled out four, slammed her trunk shut, then tried to walk to her front door.

Trying not to trip and damage her new equipment was quite a task and Cairo was almost to her door when a voice startled her.

"Need some help?" A voice said. She couldn't see the person; the boxes were blocking her vision.

"Sure," she said. The stranger (her neighbor probably, she thought) took two of the boxes off the top of her pile. When she caught a glimpse of the Good Samaritan, she dropped her boxes.

"Neil?" she said, astonished. He had found her?

"No, close. It's Nick. I live next door," he called over his shoulder, almost at her door. He didn't turn around, so he didn't recognize her.

"No, Neil!" she said, with a sound in her voice that finally made him turn around.

"Kay? What are you doing here?" he said, completely surprised.

"I'd ask you the same thing. I live here. Your turn," she said, baffled by his obvious shock.

"You have to be kidding me. Seriously? 'Cuze if this isn't some kind of joke, then we're neighbors!" he said.

"What?" she yelled.