To Look in the Same Direction.

Elena looked around again and fell into a slight confusion. She only had to blink a couple of times, as the room changed. "Hey, how did the knife disappear? It was just there," the woman pointed towards a large stone surrounded by water.

Water was illuminated from the inside, a subtle chemical smell filled the air.

"What do you mean it disappeared? Here it is," Marcus pointed in the same direction, wondering why Elena did not notice such an obvious thing. The golden hilt of the kukri was gleaming, reflecting the light of water, and beckoning to itself with some secret mystery.

Elena looked at the man as if he was taking her for the last fool on earth, "Are you serious? If I saw it, I would not ask about it. It was just in this stone, and the next second it disappeared, as it had never been there. I see water, I see these phosphoric glowing stones in it, a giant cobblestone in the center. But the knife is not there."

"Do you see anything strange in the water?" Marcus's eyebrows went up when Elena shook her head. She already listed what she was observing, and there was nothing suspicious on her list.

The man looked thoughtfully into the water. Hmm, maybe that was even better. Unlike Elena, he saw not only a knife but also a pile of human bones lying at the bottom of a reservoir around a central stone. The path leading to it did not look suspicious, but there was clearly something wrong in this place, given the number of skulls of people who had found the end of their life here.

"And you didn't accidentally lose your bracelet, did you?" Elena's unexpected question caught the man aback. He already mentally said goodbye to a thing dear to him. "The one made of three leather threads of different colors, right?"

"Umm-That's right," Marcus confirmed the woman's words, although he couldn't imagine how she found out that it was such a thing, "But how do you know about it?"

This time, Elena looked at the man as if he was a complete idiot, "And what do you think it is? Here it is!" She took a step forward and was already leaning toward the surface, as Marcus abruptly pulled her hand back.

"What are you doing? Do you want to get a chemical burn?! I said that you can not touch the water! Did you study chemistry at school at all?!"

"Marcus, what water are you talking about?! The water is more than a meter far from it! I just wanted to pick up the bracelet off the ground!" Elena was indignant, sincerely offended by such a sharp tone in her address.

The man looked from her to the floor. The water was a couple of steps away from them, and the concept of one meter was a great exaggeration. Something was definitely wrong with this place.

He squeezed his eyes and rubbed his temples; he had to think reasonably. Apparently, the space in this place was the intersection of several realities. And he and Elena saw different parts that were different from one another.

"Tell me, please, do you see any symbols around? Maybe some signs or hints, what should I do?" he asked.

Elena again looked around, this time trying to focus on small drawings on the walls, but she did not notice anything special or important in them. "There is nothing."

"Hmm, clear," Marcus looked again at the place where Elena was going to pick up his bracelet, but all he saw there was just water. After a few seconds of thought, he decided to test one theory that occurred to him, "Mrs. Anderson, do you still see a thing like my bracelet?"

Elena rolled her eyes, and why did this man so playfully switch from an official speech to a friendly one, and vice versa?

"Yes, Mr. Taubert. It's right here," the woman pointed a finger at a point in space, and Marcus squatted down next to this place.

He dipped his hand into the water, the skin on his palm hissed and began to become covered with red sores. Elena did not understand what was happening. Marcus's hand was in the air in her eyes, and suddenly something like this happened to it.

"What are you doing? Stop it, you are going to hurt yourself!"

Marcus tried to hide the discomfort behind a tight smile. By and large, such discomfort was a mere trifle for him, given what he was used to for the long years of his life, "Don't worry, I'm fine. Tell me where the bracelet is."

"Um, a little to the left, a little forward. Here, it's under your palm," Elena instructed him, and to the surprise of the man, he really felt familiar sensations under his fingertips. There was still nothing in the water, but Marcus grabbed the bracelet as an invisible thing and pulled his hand out of the water.

He opened his palm, and a smile by itself appeared on his face. A woven leather bracelet was in his hands - safe and sound. A gift that he no longer hoped to see anymore.

"I said that it was lying right there, look, even your hand has become the same," Elena smiled, she was glad to see Marcus's contented face. His calm and peaceful appearance evoked warmth in her chest. In addition, there was no trace of the burns that he had on his skin.

The man got to his feet and hid the bracelet in the pocket of his trousers, "Thank you. This thing means a lot to me, and I am sincerely grateful that it was you who helped me get it back," Marcus looked at Elena with warmth, this lady was so easily able to add light to his life that he began to seriously think about keeping her near him. At least for some time.

"I believe that we see separate parts of one reality or several realities. And the objects of one of them are not necessarily present in the other," an example with a bracelet was a confirmation of this. Now Marcus understood why Elena did not see a dagger stuck in stone.

"Is that possible?"

The man grinned, a similar question could already be considered rhetorical, since there was no point in answering it. Their very life was a confirmation that in the world something which seems impossible can be real.

"Dear Elena, isn't it the same thing a person sees every day of his life? Two people can look at one point, but see completely different objects. As they say, someone behind the tree does not see the forest, and someone sees only the forest and does not see the trees. Even everyday things are treated differently by every person.

If an ordinary person creates his own reality with his vision and focus of attention, then does it make sense for us to be surprised that our realities are now slightly different from each other? As long as two people sincerely want to find common ground, they will find a way to look at one way and see the same things."

"Hmm, have you thought about giving lectures on philosophy? You would have done just fine," Elena suggested in all seriousness.

"Ahaha, thank you for the compliment. This is not my merit, I just had a good teacher," the man winked, and Elena noticed notes of sadness in his eyes mixed with admiration and tenderness.

Marcus rolled up his shirt sleeves and walked to the edge of the stone bridge leading to a large stone in the center of the room. Before taking a step, he turned and looked at Elena, "But you, Miss, stay where you are and do not make sudden movements. I'll be back soon."

"I obey, sir. I wouldn't mind drinking some hot tea now," Elena grinned and squatted down, watching the man take the first step.