Ahead, at the foot of one of the mountains, we could see a dark hole surrounded by scorched terrain. Puffs of smoke rose from the coal-black earth, curling in the air like ghostly snakes. I squinted, trying to figure out how I'd missed it before.

How, and more importantly, when had it formed there?

We stopped at its edge, and I felt the girl's hand tremble slightly. By the mere sight of it, it was clear that this place was not a pleasant experience for either of us. She looked up at me, her eyes glistening in the light of the moon. But even it couldn't completely block out the sense of longing that lurked in her gaze.

I think I was beginning to understand her a little better, wasn't I?

— And this. Where did this come from? — I asked, pointing my finger at the hole.

The corners of her mouth twitched faintly as she put a finger to her lips. I nodded and stepped carefully, following the girl. The narrow cleft greeted us with silence, deafening and pressing, as if the space around us had ceased to exist. I held her hand tightly as my eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness.

The walls, damp to the touch but lacking their usual coolness, glistened in the flickering light reflected off something invisible. Protruding stones, like chaotically scattered steps, served as our only supports. Only the sound of pebbles that had accidentally fallen off and echoed around us broke this strange silence.

After a long descent into the depths, we finally came to the edge of the cliff. It opened before us like a huge maw, swallowing everything around it. The loud roar of the water crashing against the rocks was ear-splitting, making us slightly dizzy. The waterfalls that a moment ago had merged into the mirror-like surface of the lake, now disappeared into the darkness, devoid of bottom and end.

Everything looked unnatural here. The bottomless pit, like the mark of the sword of an ancient God's wrath, gaped with black emptiness, like an unhealed scar. And looking into it, as if into the eyes of the abyss itself, my knees shook with terror.

— That's why they call it the Cursed Lake, — her lips seemed to move silently, but the sound of her voice reached me unhindered.

— But how? Why? — I shouted my voice so that she could hear me.

— Don't scream, I can hear you perfectly well, — she grinned, tilting her head slightly, — Sin is not only inherent in humans.... After all, they are only the likeness of Gods, — her eyes lingered on the void in front of us, — What you see is the result of betrayal and deception. These feelings have left the same mark, both in the earth and in your heart.

In your heart? Whose heart? Was this the right moment to ask that? It made me wonder, but in the end, I decided not to think about it too hard.

— I'm sorry.

By this point, I was no longer cracking my voice. Though I could barely make out my own words, the girl seemed to hear me well.

— It's not your fault. Regardless of our desires, things change around us.

— I understand.

Now, to be clear, her voice didn't reach my ears. Rather, it came from my head, like a quiet whisper generated by my own imagination. So close and distant at the same time.

— What about you? What place would you call special?

— Hmm?

I ran my hand over the back of my head, trying to remember anything that could be called special. But no matter how hard I tried, only the monotonous scenes from the office and the apartment came to mind. The clatter of keyboard keys monotonously beating out the rhythm of the workday. The sound of energy cans opening, reminding me of unpaid overtime. The rustling of papers that seemed endless, like a horizon whose end could never be reached

Every morning began the same way. I would get up, make coffee, drive to the office, sit down at my desk and immerse myself in work. Calls, meetings, documentation, reports. Evenings were no different - the same couch, the same TV screen, the same subtle noise from the open window.

It seemed that even now I could reconstruct in detail in my memory the admonitions from my superiors, every criticism and reminder of deadlines that had long ago become part of the background, like an old radio tuned to the same wave.

Nothing in particular. Nothing that made my heart beat faster or my head lift from my desk. Everything blended into one gray mass that stretched on day after day, year after year.

Can I call it “special”? No. Definitely not.

— I don't think I have anything like it.

— No? — the girl was surprised.

— Once upon a time, I've been to a lot of beautiful places, but..... They're hardly special to me if I can't even remember any of them.

— Really?

— Why do you ask?

— Really, why?

She put a finger to the corner of her mouth, looking up enigmatically. Her gaze looked playful, but there was something else in it. Even though she spoke confidently, I still couldn't understand anything, as if we were speaking different languages.

I involuntarily bowed my head trying to solve this mystery. But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't see the forest for the trees. Instead, I noticed how much her behavior had changed since we'd first met. The way she talked so much, the way her lips moved to portray a smile or longing, and how relaxed she moved. Yes, she had definitely changed.

I could call her more open, but that wasn't entirely true. She seemed to be hiding just as much as she was revealing.

— Oh, you've noticed that, haven't you? — She grinned, — Then why don't you notice it about yourself?

— What do you mean? I don't understand, — her words made me more and more confused.

— You've made yourself believe that you're an open, honest person, — she said calmly, but I felt something tense inside, — But are you? Do you really believe that people lost interest in you because you were boring?

It wasn't about what exactly the girl was saying, but rather why? I didn't know what to say, or maybe I just didn't want to. Her voice sounded calm, but there was an undercurrent of reproach in it that made me uncomfortable. Why is she talking about this? What did it have to do with the case? I didn't understand it.

— Maybe your “honesty” - was just a mask. An invisible wall you'd built to keep anyone from digging deeper.

She closed her eyes quietly, as if remembering something. Even in the darkness of the night, I could see her shoulders slump irritably. As she softly opened her eyes, my tongue drew circles in my mouth, desperately searching for the right words. It was hard to explain, but with every movement of her eyelids, I felt like my stomach was twisting into a knot.

— The wider your embrace, the easier it is to crucify you, and so you chose to wrap your arms around yourself, — she finally continued, staring blankly as if through me, — Hiding in the corner of your apartment, trembling in fear that the whole world is against you. Is this the freedom you dreamed of?

Her words, one after another, came at me like a snow avalanche: as cold, heavy, and merciless. She looked away, turned toward the abyss, and her long snow-white hair fluttered in the wind like cracks in ice. The air around us became as icy as her voice.

We'd never been particularly close, but now the distance between us seemed insurmountable. Everything I'd thought, understood, or maybe wanted to understand about her crumbled to dust.

Mind-reading was intimidating in itself, but now I felt like she was seeing much deeper, reaching into my very soul. I was like a piece of paper in her fingers that was about to be torn.

— Why... Why are you telling me all this?

She looked at me over her shoulder again, squinting her eyes slightly with a mixture of cold and warmth. It seemed that summer and winter were coming closer together at the same time.

— What do you think? - Her voice sounded almost soft, but that didn't make it any easier, — There are only the two of us here, the two of us in this illusory world. If you want to keep hiding in your corner, I won't stop you. But if you want more, you're going to have to change a lot of things. About yourself. The way you look at me. The world. Otherwise we'll remain like two frozen stone statues, near and far at the same time.

She continued to stare at me, which sent a chill through my body. I could feel ghostly droplets of sweat running down my back. Subconsciously, I shared her opinion, but it obviously wasn't enough. I always thought time was on my side. But her patience didn't seem to extend into eternity.

— Change doesn't happen at the snap of fingers, you know, — I murmured.

She tilted her head slightly to the side, her smile thin, almost mocking.

— Don't worry, I'm willing to wait for you to change, but not while you're thinking.

For the next few moments, I pondered this, but nothing like confidence ever dawned on me. However, driven by fear or something else, I had no choice but to agree.

— Then, take the first step. Show me a place you care about.

She held out her hand to me before I could respond. I stared at her palm as if she had stretched a bridge over the abyss.

“Tell me who your friend is and I'll tell you who you are.” She seemed to be guided by something similar. By asking me to show her a dear place, it was as if she was demanding proof that I was really going to change. Except...

— I'm... I'm really not sure...

She lowered her head, shaking it to the side, — Until you kick a rock, it won't move, right?

— Hmm?

She grabbed my wrist and, without giving me a second to protest, leaned back, pulling me into the abyss.

A semblance of air escaped my lungs with a short shriek, and then silence swallowed everything. The sound of the water roaring around us was suddenly cut short, as if the world had frozen, holding its breath. We were falling, and I could feel my dead heart convulsing somewhere from the depths, coming up to my throat.

The darkness beneath us was gaping, cold, thick, like ink that had dissolved into the air. I tried to make out something-the bottom, the outline of the walls, the slightest glimmer of light. But all I could see was the soft trail of luminous dust left by the girl's hair.

The cold cut into my skin. Every second was drenched in sticky fear: what if there was no bottom at all? What if we fall forever, slowly disappearing until there's nothing left?

Her hand holding my wrist was the only reality I could cling to. She didn't seem afraid at all. It was as if this abyss was just home to her, and the fall was a return.

“What if we do reach the bottom?”

I imagined the impact that would tear my body apart. Imagined the dark water swallowing us up, dragging us to its bottom. But what if it's just me? What if death, once again, threatened only me? Searing, painful and not at all like a dream.

— What are you are you doing? — My voice sounded muffled, as if it was swallowed up by my surroundings.

There was a lot left unsaid, a lot left unanswered. And, as expected, she didn't answer. She turned her head for a moment, and there was nothing in her eyes-no fear, no doubt. Just a cold, frightening peace.

I tried not to think. Tried not to feel. But the more I tried, the more I felt the terror creeping in, traveling through my veins to my fingertips.

And then, somewhere on the edge of consciousness, a humility began to dawn: what if this is the bottom? What if I've already crashed, and now I'm only falling deeper, leaving behind what was once me?

Taking one last look at the girl's back, I smiled weakly, slowly closing my eyes. Not that it made any difference, but it made me feel calmer for some reason.

And suddenly... birdsong?