It was one of those sweltering summer days in May, the kind where the sun seems to beat down on everything it touches, making the air shimmer with heat. Mika Tan, a name that would become synonymous with a certain kind of thrill and excitement in my life, lived just next door. Or, at least, that's where I thought she lived. The specifics of her residence were never quite clear, but her presence was unmistakable.