left, leaving behind a oppressive silence. Lira looked at Nia with a warning.
– You see, – she said. – They are still looking for you. You must be careful.
A threat was read in her gaze. “She is afraid. So I have a chance,” Nia noticed.
After the doctor left, Nia's life returned to normal. She continued to perform her household duties, watching Lira and waiting for her hour. But now she knew that her past was still haunting her. And that one day she would have to make a choice: to remain a prisoner in Lira's gang or to try to escape and find answers to her questions. “I will choose freedom. And the truth,” she thought.
One day, Lira gathered all her servants and announced:
– I feel that there is another one.
Nia didn't understand what exactly she meant.
– Another what? – she asked, but Lira ignored her question.
But her people were clearly happy and inspired by this statement. They exchanged glances, smiled, and whispered something to each other. Something was about to happen. Something important. That would change everything.
That same day, Lira put on her best dress. It was made of some unusual fabric and sparkled in the light of artificial lighting. She looked as if she were going to a holiday.
Lira left the hut and disappeared into the gray haze. Nia remained in captivity, wondering what was happening. Where did she go? And what does it mean: “I feel that there is another one”? “I must find out. And be ready for any turn of events,” she thought.
Chapter 6
Several days passed, full of agonizing anticipation. What was Lira planning?
Finally, Lira returned. And she wasn't alone.
An unfamiliar man was walking next to her. He looked confused and disoriented. His clothes were simple and unpretentious, somewhat reminiscent of those in which Nia had awakened in the alley: a simple shirt and trousers, unobtrusive colors, no hint of high technology. Another lost soul.
He had a simple, hiking bag over his shoulder.
Nia felt her heart begin to beat faster. Who was this man? And why was he so similar to her? Like a reflection, but in a different mirror.
– Meet, – Lira said, introducing the man to her henchmen. – This is Ein. He will live with us.
There was falsehood in her voice. What was she plotting?
Ein looked around the hut with fright. It was clear that he did not understand where he was and who these people were. His gaze fell on Nia. Confusion and recognition were read in his eyes. “Does he know me? Or do I just seem familiar to him?” A quick thought flashed.
– Who is she? – Ein asked, pointing to Nia. His voice trembled.
– This is our assistant, – Lira evasively replied. – She helps us around the house.
Nia felt her suspicions increase. Something was wrong here. Lira was hiding something. And this Ein… He was the key to unraveling her past.
Lira had no sooner finished introducing Ein than her henchmen, as if on command, rushed to him and began to search his bag. Ein was clearly surprised and did not expect such a turn of events. He tried to resist, but there were too many of them for him alone. “Poor guy, he doesn't understand anything,” Nia thought.
They shook all the contents of the bag out onto the floor of the hut. Nia watched this spectacle with curiosity. What was there that was so interesting to Lira and her gang? Maybe something would give a clue?
Lying on the floor were: a pendant made of some strange, matte stone. An antique watch with a cracked dial and leather strap. Some item, the purpose of which Nia did not immediately understand. It was a small metal cylinder with some buttons and indicators. And finally, something that looked like a flash drive. Exactly the same flash drive as the one that Nia had in her bag when she woke up in the alley.
Nia felt her breath catch in her throat. A flash drive… What did this mean? Was this the key to her past? And why did Ein have one too? Coincidence? Or fate?
Lira ran to the bag and grabbed the flash drive. Her eyes burned with greed.
– This is what we need! – she exclaimed.
Triumph sounded in her voice. What did she know?
She tried to insert the flash drive into a device of incomprehensible purpose, but nothing happened.
– It doesn't work! – she said with disappointment.
– You probably need to enter a code, – her henchman said.
– What code? – Lira asked.
– He should have it, Ein.
Lira turned to Ein, who was still standing in shock from what had happened.
– Where is the code? – she asked sharply. – Where is the code for the flash drive?
Her voice was harsh and demanding.
Ein looked at her with incomprehension.
– I… I don't know… I don't remember anything…
Nia felt a pang of sympathy for this lost and frightened man. She knew what it meant to remember nothing. “He is the same as me. A puppet in the hands of fate.”
Lira's people were clearly upset that the flash drive was not working. They began feverishly sorting through different options, trying to enter something on the strange device. But all attempts were unsuccessful.
Lira watched this useless occupation with irritation.
– Enough! – she ordered. – You're just wasting time. He won't remember anything anyway.
– What do we do with him? – asked one of the henchmen.
Lira pondered for a moment.
– We'll do the same thing with him as we did with her.
She pointed to Nia. What was she plotting?
– We will leave him as a prisoner, – Lira continued. – We will watch him. Maybe he will remember something. Or his actions will clarify something for us.
She looked at Ein with contempt.
– Now you will be here, – she said. – And you will do everything that we tell you. Otherwise, you won't feel well.
Ein was still in a state of shock. He didn't understand who these people were and what they wanted from him. He looked at Nia with fright, as if seeking protection from her. “I must help him,” she thought.
Nia felt a pang of sympathy for him. She knew what it meant to be lost and helpless in this crazy world.
But she couldn't do anything. She was a prisoner, like him. And if she tried to help him, she would only bring down the wrath of Lira and her cronies upon herself.
Having lived for some time under one roof, in constant fear and tension, Nia and Ein realized that they were in roughly the same conditions. They were both prisoners of Lira, both remembered nothing about their past, and both were desperately trying to survive. “We are together. And together we can break free,” the girl constantly thought.
They began to talk, sharing their thoughts and feelings. But Nia was cautious. She had learned not to trust anyone in this crazy world.
Having once made a mistake with trust, Nia decided not to tell Ein the whole truth about herself. She didn't tell him that her flash drive and bag remained in the hospital, from which she had fled, forgetting about her things. She told him that she had taken nothing from the street on which she had found herself.
Ein, in turn, told Nia his story. He said that he had awakened in the same alley as she. Immediately after his appearance, Lira appeared