The morning sun rays had just began to hit the waking world. All the houses in the Coronado neighborhood were restless as their inhabitants began to rise and prepare for their morning duties. After 8 o'clock, all the houses in the neighborhood were brought to life, except one. The house in the corner, where the two streets that instituted the Coronado neighborhood met, was and always had been the quiet, still house in the whole neighborhood. The kids in the neighborhood were scared to go near it. Something about that house scared them . With its old, torn down wood frame, and its broken windows, the house was overpowered by a black vibe that roamed it. No one ever knew what it was that caused such an overpowering vibe, some said that it was the lack of light because the sun never seemed to hit this house. Other said that it was Noah, the thirty year-old man who lived there, that his vibe overpowered the house. Many, however, eliminated the last theory. No one knew enough about the man who used to live there to make such conclusions.

There was only one man who knew his story, but after hearing it, he swore he would never speak of it to any one else. This man was John, Noah's next door neighbor. John had been the only one in the neighborhood that had bothered to meet this man when he first came to live in that abandoned house. After hours and hours of visit, the two men became close, they became friends, and Noah only trusted John. One day, Noah decided to tell John his drastic story, and why it was that he had ended up in such a place as the Coronado neighborhood, in the middle of Kansas.

John had gone to Noah's house that day. Just like he did everyday he visited, he walked in the house and sat down next to the big chimney and waited for Noah to get two beers for them. Any other day, John would start the conversations. He would talk about that day's news or about the weather. That day, however, it was different. As soon as Noah sat down, he began to speak.

"You know John, I have never trusted anyone as much as I trust you."

"Geese! Thanks man, but why you saying that?

"Well, maybe because I have decided to finally speak up and let all this sadness out of me."

"What? You got sadness deep down inside of you? Who would've thought man. But why do you want to open up to me? I mean, it's not that I don't appreciate it, but why me?

"Like I told you, I have never trusted anyone as much as I trust you, and I know that even if you don't ask, deep down, the doubt of me being here has been wanting to come out. And I'm willing to let you know."

"Man thanks."

" But you have to promise me that no one will ever know about this, not through you at least."

"You got my word."

"Ok, then. It all started back when I was 10. I used to live in Lima, a small town in Ohio you know. My mother and father moved there when hey got married, and I was conceived in said city. All my life, I had lived there. My childhood wasn't that good. My dad split when I was eight, leaving me and my pregnant ma behind. When my sister was born, we moved to a new neighborhood. It sucked having to leave all my friends behind, but I soon made new friends. There were 6 kids that lived there, and they had their own little group formed, but it was not hard for them to accept me as their 7th member. The older two guys took me under their wing. They protected me the same they did the others. The younger 3, well they saw me as an older brother, and they always came to me for advice, and for protection. Man did I love those crazy kids."

"But I thought you said there were 6 kids, and you only mentioned 5."

"Haha. Yes, and I'm getting there. The 6th child was my age, and she was the only girl, Rachel. Even though we were the same age, she still considered me her older brother, and I protected her the same. I never noticed it, but I was closest to her than the rest. Through out elementary school, I talked to her, but not as much. I noticed her, but not as much. It was not until we entered high school that I learned that I loved her.

When we went into high school, she was already a beautiful young woman. She had the prettiest smile, and the voice of an angel. I knew that guys would be all around her, so I tried to keep them away as much as I could. I even got a rumor started that we were going out, and thanks to the fact that we were always together, many believed it. I was never brave enough to tell her how I felt though.

Through out the whole first year of high school, I was able to keep her safe. But it all changed that second year." Noah took a long sip out of his coffee, and stared straight ahead, as if he could see the image in front of him.

"That year," he continued, "a new student joined our class, Finn Hudson. All the girls in the class fell for his charming personality, even my beautiful Rachel. He, upon seeing her, began to approach her, first greeting her, and then becoming her friend. He could had chosen any other girl, but instead he chose her. I could see how she began to fall for her, and knew that I had to do something before she was in love with him. I then devised a plan that I knew could not fail. I knew that she loved me, even if it was not in the same way that I did, and I also knew that she would not allow anyone to hurt me. I planned everything out so that it seemed that Finn had hurt me. I made sure that Rachel was in the perfect place to see Finn coming out of an alley, and me following him all beaten up. Just like I had imagined, she came to my aide, and believed me when I told her that Finn had beaten me up because he was jealous of me. After I told her this, she stopped talking to him. He did not know why, but he accepted it, and began dating another girl. I could tell that this hurt Rachel badly, but I was not going to tell her what I did. When we were in our third year of high school, I was brave enough to tell her how I felt and asked her to be my girlfriend. She accepted, and we stayed together all throughout high school. We left our small town after graduation and headed to New York City and attended to the same college, and we stayed together there as well. Unfortunately, on our third year of college, Finn came to New York, and met up with us. I could tell that they still had feelings for each other, but knew that if I could keep them apart, I could overcome that obstacle. That night, I planned to propose, and invited Rachel to dinner. I left to prepare everything, and didn't realize that Rachel and Finn met up. That night, when Rachel met me at the restaurant, I could tell that there was something in her eyes, some kind of anger that I could not decipher. I decided to put that apart, and after we had our diner, I got on one knee and proposed. She rejected me, and walked out on me. I didn't know what was wrong with her, so I went after her. Once I caught up with her, I asked what was wrong. She told me that she had talked to Finn and that he had asked her why she had stopped talking to him. She then told her, and he told her all the truth. She then walked off again and told me that she hated me and that she did not want to see me ever again. I saw her leave, and then headed for my dorm. As I was about to reach the building, I saw a shadow coming out of the alley, I tried to walk by as fast as I could, but that shadow reached for me and pulled me in the alley. I soon realized that it was Finn. He started to punch me, and once he was done, he walked out and said 'That's so you know what it is like to be beaten up for reals'. After I could move, I went to see Rachel and tell her what he had done, but as it turns out, she did not believe me. She told me not to look for her ever again, and I left. I finished my last year of college and decided to head out west and landed here."

"Man, so that's how you ended up here. But why'd you chose this silly old neighborhood?"

" I don't know I just found it appealing."

"Man, but why this ragged up house? You could had chosen a better one."

"Well I was going to fix it up, but after I heard that my Rachel was going to marry Finn, I decided not to. I didn't find a good reason to do so."

"Yeah I know how you feel man. That same thing happened to me. Well, almost. I met this beautiful girl, her name's Dolores, but she fell for this newbie that came from out of town. She broke my heart, but then I found my adorable Janet, and fell in love all over. You should try doing the same. Maybe you'll find another beautiful girly out there."

"Thanks for the advice John, but I don't think I could find another Rachel. She has and always will have my heart. Now, If I am not being too rude, I would like to ask to be left alone."

"Nah man, I get ya. Well, I'll be back tomorrow. See ya."

After John left that day, Noah stood there, remembering that that day was the one designed for the wedding, with tears in his eyes, he went to the kitchen and grabbed another beer. He went up to his room and looked for the picture that was in his bedside table and laid down. He looked at the smiling girl looking up at him as he traced her face with his fingers. He could not contain the tears that left his eyes as he remembered that she was now Mrs. Hudson. He threw his beer bottle against the wall and started sobbing. Hours later, once he was all cried out, he laid down on his side and whispered to the wind, "I love you Rachel, always have, and always will" before he fell asleep.