/>The glass walls opened onto a balcony that also spanned the entire length of the house. When he walked to the iron railing he could see the small pool below, the moonlight reflecting off the still blue water. He gazed into the water and thought of the past.

How Clair would have loved the pool, but hated everything else. She would have insisted on redecorating everything, removing all the personality and transforming the place into one of those plastic layouts from those cosmopolitan home magazines she was always drooling over. Oh she would have allowed him to make love to her in the pool, and in the hot tub and gloried in the posh neighborhood, but as soon as she got bored the whining preceding the fights would have begun, and she would have started the whole process over again.

The soft breeze ran across his chest and fingered his hair. He felt warm and comfortable knowing that this time, this time none of that would happen—the good or the bad. His eyes slowly glided round his back yard. Yes, he would get up tomorrow and see what could be done about that wall, especially what appeared to be an old rotting gate in the center. That was all that needed to be done and then everything would be perfect.

He reached in his robe pocket and pointed the remote control turning the lights off entirely. He opted to leave the glass open and crawl in bed. It wasn’t long before he had dozed off, worn out by his job but relaxed by the perfection of his new surroundings, that were without a doubt truly, truly his.

And he had no dreams, just peace for a few hours. The house was silent and all that could be heard was that of nature through the opened glass playing quietly in the back yard, occasionally bouncing off the pool water, dancing through the tree leaves and then caressing his bare chest as he slept. It seemed to protect and love him and he slipped into its arms and rested for the first time in years.

He opened his eyes softly a few hours later, feeling rested, yet lazy. The house and yard were dark. He pushed himself up on his elbows and smiled. Yes, this would do. He rose up off the bed, not bothering to cover himself for he was alone and shielded from anyone or anything but Mother Nature herself. No wonder they loved it so here.

He stepped out onto his balcony naked and just enjoyed the damp night air as it glistened all over his skin. His eyes searched his yard, darting across the tiled apex below, noting the grass and the carefully placed flowers and shrubs. He then stared at that pitiful gate and made plans in his head to begin to replace it or even remove it. For the first time he looked beyond the gate wondering what was on the other side.

Obviously it was someone else’s back yard, and wondered if the fence and gate were put there to hide anything that might clash with the perfection the former owner’s had so painfully constructed. Perhaps it was simply for seclusion, the house beyond too close. It was then that he noticed, another balcony, beyond the gate, but at eye level.

It was barely the morning so the home was dark, but he could clearly see a balcony and a small glass wall, in comparison