A/N : This is gonna be long. Brace yourselves.

First off, I wasn't even supposed to be here, doing this – updating, that is. A few months back I had officially announced my exit from the site. I was doing quite well at keeping my resolution, until this week, that is. I dunno why, I suddenly felt the urge to sit down and write. And what better piece to pen down than to start off with one of my unfinished fics? Writing keeps my mind off a lot of things, and it's the best refuge out, I guess. That's for the 'why' part of it.

No, this doesn't mean that I'm back. I mean, I'm not sure myself. Whether I'll be wanting to continue writing depends on how I feel after I've posted this up. Reviews so matter, definitely, and may go a long way in helping me make up my mind.

So for the time being, just read on. And yeah, it's been nearly thirty weeks since I've written, so please bear with me if I'm not really up to the scratch.

Oh, and I'm expecting most of you to have forgotten everything of the previous chapter by now, so feel free to brush up quickly, and then start off with this chapter. That's all. Thanks.

Chapter – 6

Gwendolyn trudged out of the Johns' residence, and slowly walked up to her own house, thoroughly drained. The cousins alone had been a real handful for her to manage, leave alone the assortment of diverse memories their actions had hauled out of her subconscious. She'd had one hell of an afternoon, and she badly needed a breather.

As she rounded the corner of the street, from the distance she could see a female figure standing on her doorstep. She was dressed in a fuchsia parka with black tights underneath, holding an umbrella, and was standing with her back to Gwen. Who on earth is that? Gwen narrowed her eyes, trying to figure out who the person might be. It certainly wasn't Anne. Then who was she? And why was she standing at her door?

Gwen quickened her pace. As she walked up the porch, the woman heard her footsteps and turned to face her.

"Uhh…" Gwen was a bit startled when she recognized who the woman was.

The woman smiled. "Hey, Gwendolyn."

"Hi, Mrs. Walker," Gwen said, smiling a bit uncertainly. Norah Walker was her next door neighbor. She was a very frivolous woman, and had been known to have several affairs with younger men after her own husband had died a few years back. Gwen didn't like her very much, and had never bothered to keep any sort of cordial relation with her. "What brings you here?"

"Actually –" began Mrs. Walker.

"Won't you come in?" Gwen offered, suddenly aware that she'd forgotten all her manners. This was something that could be expected of Ben, not her. Ben's name suddenly brought back a throbbing pain in her chest. Would she never be able to pronounce his name without being hit by that overwhelming wave of pain? She slowly shook her head and focused on the woman standing in front of her.

"No Gwen, I won't come in today. Some other day, ok? I just came here to tell you something important."

What important stuff have you got to tell me? "And that is?" Gwen asked out loud.

Mrs. Walker looked around, as if expecting someone to jump out of the bushes suddenly. "Actually…since this past one hour, there's this one guy that has been hovering around your house. He walked straight up the driveway and the porch, and stood ringing your doorbell for around fifteen minutes."

Gwen was surprised. A guy? Who?

"And then," continued Mrs. Walker. "He called out for you thrice."

"Whoa…wait," Gwen interrupted her. "He called out for me? As in, he called out my name?"

Mrs. Walker nodded.

"What was he calling me by?"

Now Mrs. Walker looked surprised. "Why, your name!"

Gwen shook her head. "No, as in – Gwendolyn?"

"Oh, I get what you mean. No, he was calling you by the name 'Gwen'."

Gwen's stomach did a sudden flip. Gwen? No one in Merryville called her that! "Can you…describe the guy to me?"

Mrs. Walker stayed silent for a few seconds, recollecting. "Yeah. He was dressed in a pair of black jeans – or maybe trousers; I couldn't make that out – and a grey t-shirt."

Gwen raised her eyebrows. She knew no one like that in Merryville. Then who had the guy been? And why had he called her 'Gwen'? None of Mrs. Walker's descriptions rang a bell in her mind. "And where were you when all this happened?" she asked.

"On my terrace," replied Mrs. Walker. "That's how I saw the whole thing."

"Where did the guy go finally?"

Mrs. Walker shrugged. "I don't know. He called out your name thrice, and when he still didn't get any reply, he just stood on your porch for a while. Then he walked away."

"But…I don't know any guy like that in Merryville," Gwen couldn't help voicing her thoughts out loud.

Mrs. Walker smiled. "Must be some guy interested in you. If he comes back, you should go for it, you know."

Gwen smiled back wanly. Going out with a guy was the last thing on her mind right now. "Thanks for dropping by and letting me know, Mrs. Walker. You sure you don't want to come in for a while?"

Mrs. Walker shook her head. " I promise to drop by some other day, Gwen."

"Uhm…Gwendolyn." Gwen corrected.

"Oh, sorry. Gwendolyn. See you soon, dear." With a slight wave of her hand, Mrs. Walker departed.

Gwen stood outside her door for a while, brooding over the matter. Then finally she decided to put it away at the back of her mind. Whoever it was, if he really needed to meet her, would definitely come back later. But only one thing remained. Why had the guy called her 'Gwen'?

A/N : Ok…that's all I could write for this chapter. As I said before, I don't really know whether I'll be updating again or not – depends a lot on the feedback, but I can't really say.

For the time being, just go ahead and review. Thanks.