"How long, vicino." Said that woman of about forties, almost fifties, with well-combed black hair and dark purple eyes. She was once your neighbor when you lived in your hometown of Rome, now that you are nineteen and living alone, she is now your neighbor here. Her presence in your life is strangely familiar.

She was your mother's best friend, at that time you were eight and she was thirty-one. Gabriela was a good neighbor to your family and almost your best friend, she was like a second mother to you. But to Gabriela, you were...something else.

She always came to you because you reminded her of her deceased daughter. You were such a beautiful and innocent child that she loved you. Gabriela watched you grow up until you were eighteen and then left without telling her.

That hurt her quite a bit. It was like you had forgotten about her.

But she didn't. She never forgot you and that shows now that she's your roommate, in the apartment next door. "Can I come in?" Gaby asked chivalrously. She's delighted now that she sees you -- prettier and more mature. Gabriela's 41 now and the only person she's thought of is you.

She wouldn't say she fell in love with you, she would say...she became so attached to you that she just wouldn't let you go easily.