Damn, it's cold in this house! No wonder he closed half of the rooms shut, I can't imagine how he'll be able to keep this place heated, especially now, when he has left all alone. Although nailing the doors with boards is a bit too much even for him.

Ah, the cold! The blanket edges don't lay flat on the couch, cold air sips in through the gaps and wrinkles. Got to set it straight... Uh, that better.

He's what, 32? And still single. Always was... He needs someone to care of him. Good thing I've come. I should try to drag him outside tomorrow... Visit the pub, have some beer, look for some nice ladies...

I'm still freezing... Damn. Got to press myself up against the back of the coach to reduce heat loss. Yeah, that's right, jaming in right into the corner... Oooh, it's cold. But that's alright, it'll be better soon.

I don't think he's all that glad that I'm visiting though. I haven't seen him for a whole day... Is he avoiding me? Maybe this why he gave me this particular room. Probably it's the coldest room in the house. I'm sure he did. Bastard! And I have to go down to the first floor each time I want to take a piss. In this cold!

Shouldn't have drinking all that beer tonight.

No, I shouldn't be calling him like that, his parents died afterall... Mmmeh... he wasn't very close with them though... But anyway... He gave me his room. Probably he has to deal with the same discomfort as I am, sleeping... wherever he's sleeping now.

This house is all his now...

He's not adapted for the world...

He seems to be holding ok though...

Oh! Ooh, that's nice... Should stuff my hands deeper into the corner. It's so warm in there...

Wait... Why?

It's not the heet of my body, cant be. Hmmm... probably there's heating pipe installed in the wall behind the couch... That's must be... That's must be it.

Anyway, what was it? Oh, yeah, the ladies... soft... warm... gentle... Yawn!.. I would drink three pints of those with some tasty onion rings... Yaa-a-aawn... Just like when I was a kid... Yaaa... aayeeh... stretch those hands...

Wai... Wha?..

My whole arm fits in that gap! There should be the backside of the coach in the way. Or the wall... Yeah. It's right there! Look, I can fit both my hands up to the shoulder in that gap and still have free space! What the... How much of free space?  It's quiet warm in there though. Feels so nice... And what is it? A light? Got to take a look... But... Im so sleepy right now... Oh... I'll just... I'll just gently slide forward a bit... toward the light... To look closer... It's so soft in here... Yaaawn... Oh, here's the light; it's everywhere... Why should I leave... Why should I ever...

...

- Wake up!

- Damn you, bastard! Oh it's you. What's up. I had a weirdest dream last night. There was a thing, like a passage, in the corner of your couch... And I followed the light... So soft and warm in there... And I was sinkig into it deeper and deeper, into that sweet pleasant pulsating goodness... By the way, where are we? I don't recognize this place... or wait...

...

I remember, he gave me that look I didn't understand. Then we were getting through some tunnel with soft floor and walls formed out of sheets of soft fabric dimmly litted from behind. Sections of it were puffed and kept firm by some unkhown force or, maybe, magic. The walls and everything were slowly pulsating.

I still was rubbing my hazy eyes while following him. At the end of the tunnel there was a door and a box on the wall on the left from it. He opened the box and flipped the switch marked as "vents". Pulsating humm I didn't notice before has stopped, as well as the flow of warm air. Fabric on the walls of tunnel has lost its shape and fell flat. The second switch turned everything into darknes for few moments. Then the door opened and sharp white light blinded me, so I made few steps forward driven purely by some primal instinct. After that I found myself standing in the coldness of his guest room. Secret door in the wall closed behind me. He gave me my day clothing without saying a word. In the middle of the room were all my belongings packed in cases standing on the floor.

I slept for four days straight. He thought I have left without notifing him. Then he figured it out and found me... there.

Now it was time for me to leave.

We never spoke since.