C2

After the incident with the car battery, Daniel spent another week working from home. The stress had begun wearing him out mentally and physically, so the idea of staying cooped up in his apartment while Maya played in the yard was unbearable. Besides, the apartment itself seemed to attract strange energies that were making him sick. It was time to move on.

Daniel rented an apartment in a suburb north of Orlando that was relatively safe and affordable. They moved in on Wednesday afternoon, and Daniel quickly set up Maya's room in a corner of the second bedroom so that she could sleep comfortably until they could find her proper bedding and furniture. It was already late in the evening when they arrived in their new house, but neither of them could wait any longer. So Daniel carried Maya into the bedroom, gently laying her down on the soft mattress and covering her up. As soon as he turned off the lights, she snuggled close to him without waking up.

"You're such a good girl," he whispered softly into her ear as he pulled the covers up around her body. "Daddy will keep you warm tonight."

That was all he needed to say. Within moments, Maya was fast asleep in his arms as though she had known this all along.

When Daniel woke up early in the morning, he checked his phone to see if Maya had woken up during the night. She hadn't stirred at all since he tucked her in; instead she remained soundly sleeping, hugging him tightly to her chest. He stared at her peacefully slumbering form for several minutes before finally turning off the light switch.

It felt like someone else's life now. He realized that it wasn't a dream after all; this was really happening – and it was real.

The new townhouse wasn't as grandiose as his old condo unit, yet it offered more than enough space for a single person and a toddler to settle down and begin building a life together. The rent wasn't too bad either; it cost almost half what he paid per month at his previous residence – although it didn't include a pool and tennis court like the last one did. Still, it served its purpose quite nicely. And despite Daniel's initial concerns, it turned out that there were plenty of families living nearby; many children were enrolled in local schools which meant that the neighborhood wasn't as quiet and tranquil as he originally feared. In fact, it turned out to be rather lively, with kids playing outside throughout the day and adults talking on the sidewalk outside of bars.

It felt so surreal to be sitting here with Maya. Just thinking about how things had worked out made his mind race at such a high speed that his stomach ached. He had to calm himself down before he fell unconscious... so he stood up and walked over to the kitchen sink to fill up his water glass from the faucet. As he drank his beverage slowly, he glanced out of the window at the beautiful green lawns beyond the patio fence. The sun was barely rising over the horizon, illuminating the bright colors of the grass with the cool shade cast by the towering pines. He had always wanted to wake up beside his wife every morning, just like the couple standing at the end of the block across the way who appeared to be doing so. Their silhouettes were outlined against a golden-yellow background – a stark contrast to the black shadows cast by the trees behind them.

They weren't looking directly towards him, but Daniel sensed that they noticed him staring at them nonetheless. His heart raced within seconds; he couldn't believe what was unfolding right in front of him! These people were his neighbors!

His eyes widened in shock. This could only be true if they lived next door! Then what are the chances? I don't recall seeing anyone move into this house recently...

He swallowed hard as he looked back outside the window. His gaze lingered on their backsides for several seconds until something caught his attention – a small shadow passing in the distance. A flash of silver hair flew through the air followed shortly thereafter by a tiny head bobbing up and down – before being picked up and held tight.

Oh my God, it's her!!!

He jumped up to grab the binoculars hanging on the wall.

"Maya?" Daniel called out as loudly as he dared to whisper. "Are you there? Can you hear me? It's Daddy."

There was no response.

Instead, he saw her father turn around to look at the backyard, then walk towards the front of their house where he knocked on their front door. A few seconds later, a young woman answered the door and spoke with her husband for a moment. Soon, the man left to go somewhere private with her. Daniel assumed that they were probably having an intimate conversation before returning to join their daughter in bed. But then what were they talking about? How did they know each other? And why did they decide to knock on his front door?

The possibilities ran wild in his brain. Were they planning on meeting him? Were they somehow connected to his life before? What did they want? How did they get inside? And most importantly, who is Maya?

Suddenly, a dark figure emerged from behind the bushes.

It was him!

At least it looked like him. Daniel watched in utter amazement as his neighbor climbed up onto the porch and approached his home – carrying a bundle of clothing under his arm that looked exactly like the ones he bought for Maya two weeks ago!

But that means...

He must have taken them!!

But then how could they have known about them?! It can't be possible...

Daniel watched as his neighbor opened the unlocked sliding glass door to enter his home. Once inside, he went straight for their bedroom where he began changing into different clothes that Daniel recognized as Maya's, while also checking on her to make sure that she was still sleeping. For some reason he didn't understand, he couldn't help feeling suspicious of their behavior – especially considering how strange they acted whenever they encountered one another while taking care of their child together. And he knew full well that he shouldn't be spying on them... but he couldn't stop watching them. He knew that they were hiding something important that they weren't telling him... and he couldn't wait any longer to find out what it was.

What should he do?

Before long, he heard the faintest sound coming from outside the living room window.

A loud clap of thunder shook the ground beneath him, and he instantly realized that it was raining outside – just like it did six years ago in New York City. Although it was a clear day in Orlando, the clouds were dark and threatening, and it looked like it might rain any minute now. The lightning flashed in the distance, illuminating the entire street in brilliant white light. There was a low rumble of thunder in the distant sky, and the wind whistled through the branches of tall oak trees lining the road, blowing the leaves up into the air.

Daniel quickly rushed to Maya's room and peeked through her open window. Sure enough – there they were again – standing side by side on the other side of the fence, facing him as they talked about something. When the thunder struck once more, they both stopped moving for a brief second before continuing on as if nothing had happened. It was eerie seeing them like that. Daniel felt as though they had been frozen in time. Was it a coincidence? Or maybe it wasn't them? Could it be another family? Did they move here before him? Why haven't I seen them before?

As soon as the noise died down, he grabbed his cell phone off the table and dialed the number of the house next door. The ringing sounded eerily similar to the one he remembered hearing on his birthday.

"Hello?" a female voice responded immediately, and he smiled with relief. "Who is this?"

"Hi, I'm calling from the apartment next door," he said casually, unsure of how to approach the situation. "Is your name Maya?"

"Yes, this is Maya," she replied. "I've never met you, so you'll have to introduce yourself first."

"My name is Daniel," he told her. "You're Maya's dad, right?"

She hesitated for a few seconds before responding.

"That sounds familiar..." she mumbled. "Did you say my father's name is 'Maxwell' as well?"

Daniel froze in his tracks and stared blankly at the screen of his phone. Of course she knows that we moved away six years ago! But why would that make any difference? It doesn't even matter anymore. It has to be them... right?

"Yeah, that's right," he said cautiously, hoping that he wasn't mistaken or that it wasn't too late for him to correct himself. "We used to live in the same complex. My name is Daniel Maxwell, by the way."

Maya's jaw dropped in surprise, and she stared at him for several moments without saying anything at all. It felt like a lifetime until eventually she regained control of herself and continued speaking with a trembling voice that betrayed her emotional state.