transparent water. Aurelia understood that it was possible to cure the girl only by her own vital forces and, having wetted cotton wool in that clear water, wiped a section on the child's neck. After a while the wound closed, the girl was warmed and smiled. Having seen her pink face Aurelia understood that she was rescued.
– What is your name? – Aurelia asked quietly with relief, palming the girl’s light ringlets …
– … But, once long time ago and …
Aurelia understood that she was sitting before Veres who was telling something to her with enthusiasm. It took some more moments finally to understand where she was … and a couple of minutes more to understand what her companion was telling to her, he even didn't notice that the girl was somewhere very far.
– Should I repeat? – he asked coolly, without changing intonation and without doing a pause between the question and story he had been telling before.
– Sorry. I digressed from … – the girl answered, without deciding to devote him in the last strange visions about the child, having managed to notice, however, that the younger brother as attentive as the elder one.
– Your visions are getting more and more frequent, and you still don't tell anything about them. It isn't correct. They are not only for you, it is first, and secondly, I can help you to understand them.
Aurelia, without having managed to recover, properly, from surprise after vision, was surprised once again with Veres behavior. Having looked closer, she saw concern on his face, and there was genuine interest in his eyes.
«How long was I away?» – the girl thought.
– For some moments … If I start answering not asked questions, you, at last, will understand, that I don't need to ask you for speaking?
Suddenly the girl felt discomfort as though she had made some nonsense and wanted to keep it in a secret, but suddenly she realized that the whole world had already known about it. She remembered all the moments when she felt irritation and rage because Veres was not similar to Borg, disappointment because she got such a boring and uninteresting companion, rage because she was like the little child going where others told her to … But stop. She wasn't ashamed of that fact and if Veres understood her so well why he didn't give the answer to that vexing question?
– Because you made the question incorrectly. The point is that we are going not «where», but «why»?
– Well, he is starting again … – the disappointment strongly took the positions in soul of the girl but, however, it didn't bother her to peer at Veres's eyes which were sparkling with the gold. And that color warmed, dazzled and entrained somewhere more deeply, and it seemed that there, in depth was a source of that light which was reflected with sparks in a surface. However, Veres smiled at that moment not only with his eyes, and his smile appeared to be not less attractive, than the laughing eyes. Aurelia even forgot what she wanted to ask.
– Well, it is time to go, – said Veres and, having easily picked up a big leather traveling bag, headed to an exit.
Thoughts of the girl got stuck in the head of Aurelia. The road was smooth, landscapes around looked like white winter canvas. Travelers were lost in reverie, and the fact that nobody could see her eyes, gave the feeling of some privacy. Servants silently were walking at some distance, and Aurelia liked the feeling that she was not alone on the road, but at the same time nobody disturbed her with the attention. Aurelia still didn't learn to hide the play of her eyes which were giving out mood and shades of thoughts and feelings. However, now it disturbed her a little because the vital strength of the girl which got on Aurelia's fingers in vision continued to burn down her skin intolerably.
«I wonder who she is to me. Or who she could be? Or who she was to me before?» Having listened to the feelings, Aurelia understood that it was extremely important to her to understand that this child was alive even if the destiny of the girl would never intertwine with her own. Even if she was one of the possible ways of Aurelia life. The girl smiled. The only article about Timeless and Reapers turned a stream of her thoughts in absolutely different direction. There was no destiny or inevitability for Aurelia any more. Strange visions and strange events caused alarm not because of singularity of events but because she was afraid to lose the value of her own choice and own life, but at the same time Aurelia distinctly realized that it would be easier and more correct to accept such state of affairs, than to oppose to them.
The road was gradually covered with lonely travelers, vehicles and … noise. Probably somewhere nearby was a market and people from neighboring villages were in a hurry walking there. Aurelia thought that she had already forgotten what the vanity was. Choosing solitude roads, Veres was right that people were able to do you up even with the existence in the field of vision. However to quicken the pace, having already appeared in a human stream, was impossible therefore they with identical hopelessness continued the movement with the slow speed imposed to them.
– You after all know, what it isn't enough for saving her life?
Aurelia gave a start of surprise. The person she had seen in the inn was riding a black large horse next to her. His heavy dusty raincoat on the shoulders for some reason caused unpleasant memories of a big black bird. Having taken away them by effort of will, she said quietly: «Who are you talking about?»
– I am talking about the little girl with light ringlets. Have you noticed how much she was similar to you?
Aurelia stood for a moment and tried to find Veres's eyes, but he was deep in his thoughts and was riding a little behind. Servants lagged behind but even if they were near, Aurelia couldn't imagine how those silent creatures could help her.
– Who are you?
– The one who sees your probabilities! Do you want to know about the missed chances?
– No, thanks, – conversation was getting more and more unpleasant, but it seemed there was no chances to interrupt it.
– Don’t be afraid, ask! – the sharp unpleasant voice reminded croak of a bird more and more, – Don’t you know that your existence changed this reality, however, as well as that from which you were taken away? It is possible that your life somewhere still flows on the old course, being reflected in your head by echoes of images? And you still have a choice?!
– What a choice? – Aurelia suddenly felt strong fatigue.
– The choice to help me and to rescue the daughter!
– I have no daughter! – Aurelia started to lose control. She felt as a doll in a show-window, the frozen doll covered with hoarfrost and the last vital forces were leaving her again …
– Or yourself…
– Myself?! – the consciousness decided not to resist any more and abandoned the girl. The limp body fell off the horse which continued the slow way.
Aurelia was swimming in the small decorative lake near some castle. Between the building and a pond she saw a beautiful well-groomed green lawn with a fresh-cut juicy grass. The beautiful small castle which was made of light pure stone was seen in the distance. The bright, but not hot sun hurt eyes a little. Stones of the
