Time tio slide by at its leisurely pace, a steady rhythm that defied the uled flurry within Evander. An hour, perhaps more, passed in this peculiar stalemate, a bizarre game of observation being pyed from both ends. The crowd around the pool ebbed and flowed, but the unusual i in him remained a stant, an undercurrent of whispers and sidelong gnces.

  Just as he was pting his move, the entrao the pool area was graced by a woman whose air of and parted the throng as surely as a bde cuts through silk. She was older than most, in her fifties perhaps, her business suit stark against the sea of leisure wear that surrounded her.

  As she stepped onto the se, the pool attendant hurried to her side, leaning in to share a quick word. From his position, Evander watched as the attendant's arm lifted subtly, a gesture meant to go unnoticed, fingers pointed discreetly in his dire. The woman's eyes followed the signal and locked onto Evander with an unwavering iy.

  A strange sense of foreboding ched at Evander's gut as the woman's gaze met his. The ers of her mouth tilted up in a meical smile that felt empty, her eyes devoid of the warmth that usually apanied such a gesture.

  What does she want? He found himself w as he watched her approach, her stride fident, unwavering. A knot of anticipation twisted in his stomach, uainty tingeing his thoughts. The bance of his day seemed to rest on this impending enter, and he braced himself for whatever this stranger might bring. He maintained his rexed facade, only the subtle stiffening of his muscles betraying his internal readiness.

  The woman closed the distaween them with a grace born of many years navigating importaings and high-stakes enters. Her greeting bore the formal air of someone used to dictating the tone of the versation, her voice carrying easily over the ambient noise.

  "Man Evander," she began, addressing him with an ued gravity that hi some unspoken uanding. "I see that you have e outside."

  Evander responded with a polite nod, his voice steady as he replied, "It's a warm day. I thought it would be pleasant outside." His gaze remaieady orying to decipher the cryptic messages in her words and demeanor.

  He had woken up in a world that was fn to him, a stranger in his own skin. Every iion, every clue iece of the puzzle that was slowly ing together. Yet, the woman before him was an enigma, her words den with unspoken text he could not grasp.

  The fixed smile returo her face, the warmth of her words not quite reag her eyes. "It's wonderful that you feel you are ready," she said, though her statement seemed less of a casual ent and more of a coded message.

  Ready? Ready for what? Evander found himself p, the edge of fusion creeping into his thoughts. A pleasant, weling smile found its way onto his face as he her, giving nothing away.

  The sudden shift in his demeanor seemed to jolt her, as if she had been expeg a different response. A fsh of surprise rippled through her eyes, quickly repced by her trolled posure. This, too, did not escape Evander's keen observation, leaving him more puzzled about the enigmatian and the cryptic world he had woken up to.

  She seemed to gather herself, the threads of her posed facade knitting back together. "Well," she began, her eyes already drifting towards the busy entrance of the pool area as though preparing to take her leave, "I will leave you if you want."

  Evander's mind spun, analyzing her words, her tone, her body nguage. He was a stranger here, and she was the first person to have directly ied with him. There was a sense of power about her, a calcuted fidence. He felt an instinctive urge to uand more, to uhe enigma that was this world.

  "If it's okay with you, could you stay and chat for a while?" he ventured, his words hanging in the air betweehe simple request seemed to startle her even more than his earlier response had. The woman’s body nguage betrayed a momentary vulnerability as if taken aback by his invitation.

  A few long seds passed as she posed herself. He watched her, quietly patient, as the surprise etched on her face began to morph bato that practiced serenity. With a nod, she moved a chair closer to his, yet cautiously maintained a fortable distaweehe inscrutable smile returo her face, and he couldn't help but wonder about the invisible lines he was unwittingly crossing. It was a dance of etiquette and hidden rules that he knew nothing about.

  He drew from his past experiehe tless interrogations that had tested his resiliend sharpness. His voice was smooth as a calm river when he asked, "What brings you here today?"

  She responded with a smile, a curve of lips that carried a sense of careful rehearsed friendliness. "I had a report that you were out and about, Evander. Naturally, I was ed about your wellbeing."

  His brows kogether in genuine fusion, "Why wouldn't I be fine?"

  A ripple of fusion spread across her face, as if his words had disrupted a carefully id out pn. She mentioned several sessions he apparently had with her, sessions where he’d revealed his disfort at the intense scrutiny of the people around him. The more she spoke, the clearer the image became. She's a therapist. And I'm her patient.

  A realizatioled in him, like the final piece of a puzzle falling into pce. The incessant stares, the odd distance maintaihey all poio one clusion. He was the object of their collective , maybe even fear.

  She spoke again, breaking into his thoughts. "It's wonderful to see you being so brave today."

  His mind pulled at the word 'brave.' He was traio associate bravery with acts of valor on a battlefield, not with taking a stroll around a picturesque enviro. It was bravery running towards the booming echoes of gunfire, fighting for survival and duty.

  Stepping out of a door into paradise isn’t bravery, he mused silently, casting a sidelong g the womao him.

  After indulging in a bit of casual versation about the sunher and the breathtaking surroundings, Evander decided to dig deeper. His gaze flickered towards the woman, as he calmly asked, "Could you remind me of the treatment I'm undergoing? I seem to have... fotten."

  Shock fshed across her face as if his question was an ued sp. She stammered, hastily assuring him that there was nothing wrong with him, that he erfectly normal.

  Normal? His mind spun in fusion, darting to the evidehat his body presehe lethargic muscles, the veil of fatigue that stantly shrouded him. "But I feel weak, as if something is wrong with me," he said, his tog with a plea for an expnation.

  The aused, her eyes sizing him up as if trying to figure out a plex riddle. "Of course, you're not unwell, Evander," she said, her tone soothi firm. "It just takes time for males to adapt to the demands the world pces on them. And in my professional opinion, you're doing exceptionally well, especially sidering your young age."

  Evander's brows furrowed, his mind ing as he tried to make sense of her words. Demands the world pces on them? Males? Young age? What the heck is she talking about? His thoughts were a tangled knot of fusion, each strand tugging him further into the byrinth of uainty.

  With a polite nod, Evahanked her, a shadow of a smile grag his features. "I'm gd to know I'm doing well," he ented, his gaze drifting past her towards the bustling pool area. "There seem to be quite a few women around the pool."

  The woman's response was immediate, her words rushing out as if she had been brag for such a request. "I have the area cleared out if you prefer, Evander."

  He shook his head almost instantly, the sharpness of his rea startling her. "Why would I want that?" he asked, the ers of his mouth curling into a boyish grin. "They make for a rather pretty sight."

  The woman regarded him carefully, her gaze sweeping over him with an inquisitive air. It was as if he had deviated from a script that only she knew, and she was trying to decipher the ued line he'd just delivered. For a time, they engaged in pleasant small talk, their versation meandering through trivial subjects, a geream of words flowiween them.

  Eventually, the woman excused herself, rising from her chair with a grace that mirrored her sophisticated demeanor. "I don't wish to burden you any further with my presence," she said, her words carefully arranged in a bouquet of politeness. Before departing, she reassured him. "You won't be disturbed, Evahe people here know how to behave."

  Behave? What does she mean by that? He found himself questioning again, the string of enigma tugging at his curiosity. He halted her retreat with a quiet inquiry. "Is there anything I could take... for this weakness I'm feeling?"

  She looked at him, shock lining her features. After a pause, she nodded. "Yes, I'll have somethi over." The promise was soft, and her eyes held a touch of that didn't escape his notice.