The kibbutz was a nice, open place. He used to keep his door unlocked all the time, even when he went to work. He didn't mind if she wanted to use his room - for the TV, to tape something, a place for peace and quiet. It was all fine by him. But something had changed inside him.
Since the beginning of the week he'd been locking the door before getting into bed in the morning. A small feeling at the back of his mind. One of the small routines of hers he knew - if she was going to come round, it'd always be around 2pm. That was the time she might appear on his doorstep. And so he locked his room, wanting to be left alone, even from her. A few times he'd heard a knock on his door and someone calling his name. He never got up to open it. Nor did he give any reply to his name being called.

'Just me,' he thought. 'Just me...'

This carried on for a few weeks, although he did notice she didn't come round as often. Maybe that was for the best. He'd also started spending time with the volunteers. A new group had recently arrived and he'd met a few of them at work, and found them good company - interesting to talk to. So, in the afternoons instead of going back to bed after lunch he'd go down to the volunteers rooms. He'd sit outside in the late Spring sun, passing the hours away with good conversation.
It hadn't been like this for him for a long, long time. His mind slowly emptied of his troubles in this new company. He even told one girl, who he got along with fairly well, that she'd helped him forget his ex-girlfriend. He wasn't trying anything on with her, it was a genuine statement from him. He found her attractive, and felt all those feelings when you're in the company of someone who excites you, but he knew she had a boyfriend in her own country. He wasn't the kind of guy to come on to all the girls, just someone who really enjoyed female company. Telling stories, joking and all those other things that appear when a friendship happens.