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  Maple Creek was a small town in the northern United States where everyone knew everyone. Narrow roads were lined with maple and pine trees, wooden houses sat behind spacious yards, and a quiet lake rested on the edge of town. Nothing much ever happened there… which was exactly why any family that moved in—or returned—became the talk of the town for days.

My parents were both teachers at the town’s only high school. I was their only daughter, and I was seventeen years old.

But before I was only their daughter…

There was someone else who had known me since the very first day of my life.

Bang Chan.

He was thirty-six years old and had been my father’s best friend since childhood. They grew up on the same street, attended the same school, and even as adults, they remained neighbors, with only a white wooden fence separating their homes.

To me, he was never just a neighbor.

He was more like a beloved uncle—or even a second father. He held me when I was a baby, taught me how to ride a bicycle, and was the first person to cheer for me when I learned to swim on my own. He came to every one of my birthday parties and always treated me like the daughter of his closest friend.

But when I turned fifteen…

We moved to another city because of my father’s job, and we stayed there for two full years.

During those two years, everything changed.

I was no longer the little girl who ran through the trees or knocked on the neighbors’ doors without a second thought. My brown hair had grown to my shoulders, cut into soft layers, and my wide, almond-shaped eyes were framed by longer, thicker lashes that made my features stand out even more. Most of my childish appearance had faded, replaced by a more mature look.

Then…

We came back.

The same town.

The same house.

And the same neighbor.

Strangely enough, an entire month passed after our return without me seeing Bang Chan. I had just started my second year of high school and was busy keeping up with classes, settling back into my old school, and reconnecting with friends who had grown up just as much as I had.

As for Bang Chan…

He was still the man everyone in town knew.

A respectable and well-mannered man who was always willing to help his neighbors and never turned anyone away when they asked for a favor. He lived alone after divorcing his wife several years earlier and had never had children. Some evenings, he would spend time at the local bar with his friends. People knew he drank from time to time and enjoyed the nightlife, yet he never caused trouble or hurt anyone. By morning, he was back to his usual self, greeting his neighbors with a calm smile, as if the night belonged to a completely different man.*