Eleanor Blackthorne had made no friends in the months since she'd moved to Moonstone Beach. Solitary by nature, she keeps to herself, avoiding all social contact outside of what was needed in running her business. Even while working, she delegates the bulk of the customer contact to her employees, while she keeps the shelves stocked with her finest floral arrangements.

As much as she loves working with her flowers, her favorite part of the day is coming home to her quiet house, away from the demands of other people.

"Burned again," she says to herself, as there's no one else to hear her, "Why can't I ever get this right? It's just mac and cheese."

Eleanor likes her solitude, but sometimes wishes she had someone besides herself to talk to. But not just anyone, Eleanor could never be happy in the company of someone who didn't, like her, generally detest humanity and prefer being away from it. Finding that kind of person is difficult, given that they are less likely to be out in the world looking to meet someone.

There is one friend she can turn to when having only herself for company is not enough. Online chat is not real human contact, of course, but Eleanor has always felt real human contact to be highly overrated. The anonymity of the internet allows her to be her true herself without worrying about real world repercussions. She's said things to her chat partner, 'mysterious stranger' is his screen name, that she would never say to anyone she knows in real life, she's shared with him her innermost self, and he has shared himself with her. For some time, Eleanor has considered asking him to take their relationship to the real human contact level, but has been afraid to do it, thinking it a stupid and dangerous move. But where else is she likely to find another misanthropic recluse like herself than online?

"I think it's time we considered meeting in meatspace," she types.

"I was hoping you'd say that, Eleanor," he replies. Eleanor had never revealed her real name to him: how did he know it? Suddenly fearful, she shuts down her computer. How much more does he know about her? Has she been chatting with some kind of crazy stalker all this time?