— Into this world?! — I asked again.
— I think you’ve understood where you are. — He looked at my amazed face and continued. — My father often was there. Exactly he was a person who constructed this device. He had to hide it into this book that it would not get into the wrong hands. — Henry sighed deeply. — But Larry Nickson betrayed him. His best friend and colleague stroke a stab in the back. He was afflicted with the international recognition. And when my father asked him to forget about what he had seen, Larry was as if he went crazy. — Henry was telling me about it with a great difficulty. — Just think about the consequences to which the publicity could bring. The entire world’s system, which had been being created for thousands of years, would have been broken irretrievably. — He looked away and wiped his eyes. — I don’t know how, but Larry got an appointment with the minister, and then they declared a real hunt on my father. They found him very quickly, but Willer’s Book had been already hidden in a safe place. Since that time I have seen my father only in this village…
— I’m so sorry… — I said with sympathy.
— Nothing wrong, Olivia, you couldn’t play any role here. The most horrible thing is that I wasn’t able to talk to him. He is running from me every time I try to get close to him. Like all the others in this place. He could fall into there, but establishing communication with the other world was beyond his power. — After Henry had told me it, he felt a lot better. — I’ve already tried everything possible, but I didn’t move off dead center.
— And how can we return? — this question was worrying me since I’ve just happened to be there.
— It’s easy, at some moment you will desire to sleep, and fighting with this wish will be impossible. Apparently, our organism spends a lot of resources on being in this place. And you will wake up exactly where you opened the book.
Nearly during two hours we were sitting on the bank of the pond and discussing this place.
The sun was idly setting, but I absolutely didn’t want to sleep.
— I was there for a long time when I came for the first time, too. — Henry noted. — And then I used to fall into sleep in fifteen minutes. By the way, I haven’t understood what the duration of my appearances depends on.
— I don’t what to say about all this. — I had a quite strange state. A deep inner calm have totally captured my body.
— My reaction was a lot more emotional, although I had already known where I’m going. — Henry yawned and began to fall sideways looking at me. — See you, Olivia, it seems that I have to go. I'll see you at home.
I was looking at him uninterruptedly until he completely dissolved in the air.
After sitting near the pond for twenty minutes more, I decided to stroll the village. And some time I will get there, I should confess it is sad for me to realize it. Nevertheless, life after death exists, but somebody hardly imagined it like this.
I was walking the streets, periodically glancing at the foreyards. The only one thing that arrested my attention was the fact people were doing nothing. They were always going somewhere, but at the same time they did not undertake any activity.
At some moment my eyes fell on my father again, and I determined to watch him. I don’t know why, but he was dangling after unknown woman during all the time. I don’t think he was unfaithful to my mother, most likely she is his first love. To learn anything from him was an impossible thing. Probably that is why my mind was thinking of such cranky ideas.
It is oddly, I thought, the village is so small, but all the time my eyes meet different faces.
And suddenly I felt so upset, all these people, they have relatives, after all. If only there was a way to give them access to this reality. Living on earth would be easier. Even if people cannot contact with them, they would know that their relations are alive.
All at once I heard painfully familiar voice behind me. Right away I did not understand who it was.
— Hi, Olivia. Happy to see you again.
I turned round and saw Henry, and cold sweat ran all over my body… He was dressed in casual clothes…
Author: Shturenkov Sergey
Translation: Julia Zaporojets
