Tim stood before Mara, his mind a whirlwind of uncertainty. Should he take the leap, as he had often fantasized, and kiss her? But how? A simple lean, a gentle touch of their lips? He tentatively moved closer to Mara, but his actions were so clumsy and uncoordinated that he could see the worry in her eyes.

"Are you okay, Tim?" Mara asked.

Tim closed his eyes and shook his head. "The cook offered me some terrible liqueur; that's probably why. I'm not used to drinking alcohol," he explained, and to end this horribly awkward moment, he decided to make his escape: "I'll let you through tomorrow. Here are your papers." He pulled Mara's papers from his coat. They weren't neatly folded; he hastily stuffed them into his pocket.

Mara accepted the papers in silence, her disbelief palpable. Tim felt the weight of his decision pressing down on him. "But Mara, you must understand," he continued, "agents are scouring Heine for people like you. There won't be a crossing record, but they can check your identity anytime. It's dangerous there now. You should reconsider and go back home."

"Tim, it's kind of you to worry, but I have a plan. The crossing is the hard part. I have friends there already... and thank you for helping!" Mara took Tim's hand and squeezed it. Tim felt how warm and soft her small hand was and made another uncertain move towards her. Then he got angry because he saw concern in her eyes again, so he turned on his heel and left the room without a word. He hurried away, wanting to get as far from the inn as possible.

All the way home, he was upset. How ridiculous he must have seemed, or maybe, at best, Mara didn't notice his intentions. Then he wondered why she was wearing a coat. Could there be others with fake papers? But she was the only one who wanted to go to Heine. What if they're taking a detour? He should have asked many more questions, but why did these doubts only occur to him now? And then there was the cook. What if she tells Noir what he did today? He had to talk to her before lunch. It would be terrible if Noir passed the information on to Judith. There were no cameras, but the surveillance was very effective. Maybe everyone already knew where he had been. After all, he didn't usually go to the inn every day; he should have planned this trip more carefully, like not taking the main road using the inn's side entrance, but all these thoughts came to him now. He hadn't considered the consequences, and now he had to think of an excuse. If Tim could develop a good story for the cook, Mara wouldn't be found out. No one inside the inn had seen him, after all.

The cool evening breeze felt good on his face, which he felt was burning. Why couldn't he be more decisive? He had wasted his last chance because he would let her through tomorrow. He would never see her again and wouldn't know if he had read her signals correctly. Was she kind to him because she wanted to get through the gate? And for that purpose, maybe she would have even returned his kiss? He didn't like this train of thought. Now, he was glad he didn't dare to kiss her. Had Mara returned it, would it have been because she wanted to cross or found him likable? It was too complicated.

Fully dressed, he threw himself onto the bed, wanting to scream.

Sleep came with difficulty to Tim. He tossed and turned, constantly seeing Mara's surprised and concerned expression before him. Eventually, he did fall asleep, but then he found himself in the marshy landscape again, wading knee-deep in the swamp, heading somewhere. In this dream, Mara appeared beside him, but this time, she didn't pass him by; instead, they walked side by side for a while. When Tim stopped and turned toward the girl, they kissed each other so naturally and effortlessly that it felt as if his mind were mocking him. As if it were saying, "See, this is how it's done; it's not complicated at all."

He woke up several times, drank water, and went out into the yard to get some fresh air because he felt like he was suffocating. But the outside noises annoyed him—the deafening chirping of the bugs and the croaking of the frogs—all of it reminded him of the marsh in his dream.

He could hardly wait for morning because he felt he had messed things up badly, all because of a girl he had only known for a few days, a girl who was crossing over to Heine to certain death, and he was even helping her with it. Who knows why. He had to talk to Sara first and foremost. He needed to divert attention from Mara so they wouldn't be linked together.

Finally, morning came, slowly but surely. Tim hurriedly made himself yet another coffee, skipping breakfast, and headed toward the inn, this time taking a detour through the forest, careful not to ruin his uniform. He slipped in through the side door, startling the cook, who was calmly doing her business in the kitchen, preparing breakfast. It was uncertain whether Tim's early visit or his agitated expression surprised her more.

"Sara, I need a favor!" Tim blurted out without waiting for the woman to offer him a seat or express concern. "Could you please not tell anyone that I was here yesterday looking for that girl?"

"Mara?" the cook stammered.

Tim closed his eyes, feeling this was not going well; she even knew her name. "Yes, her. I'm handling something very secret; not even Noir knows about it. Sara, it's essential. Will you do me this favor and not tell anyone?"

The cook sat there in astonishment, then slowly seemed to understand what she had heard. She nodded, her usual calm expression returning. "Oh Tim, you scared me so much and frightened me. Why do you have to burst in on people like that? There's already enough weirdness here. Why do you have to act weird, too? With all these strangers around, do you think anyone tells me why they're here? It's no use asking Noir either; he never tells me anything. I see something is going on here; I'm not blind!"

Tim was taken aback, struggling to follow the cook's thought. "Sara, listen, all these people will disappear from here today, the girl too," he deliberately didn't say her name. "I'm just asking you not to tell anyone I was looking for her yesterday. It would get me in terrible trouble."

He looked at the woman pleadingly, and she smiled at him. "Alright, Tim, I know you're a good boy. I won't tell anyone; you can trust me!"

Tim was grateful, then slipped out through the side entrance, heading toward the gate through the forest. He stumbled several times in his hurry, making the journey longer than usual. When Tim reached the foot of the hill, he could already see people gathering. He had just enough time to place the list of names on his small desk to have it handy. He straightened his clothes and hair to look presentable but needed more time to tidy up the scattered trash. From a distance, he could see Judith and Noir approaching.

They stopped a little distance from the gate, pretending to have a casual conversation while scrutinizing the people in line with keen eyes. Tim also noticed other individuals standing idly by the lines, giving the impression that they were inspectors. He had heard of this before, having been part of several inspections in the city. These inspectors would randomly pull travelers out of the line and check their papers.

But now, these individuals just seemed to be standing around, watching. Tim, with clenched teeth, awaited the people holding their papers. If the paper indicated Heine, he checked the list and let them through without a thorough examination, as Judith had instructed. He noticed that these travelers didn't arrive all at once but were interspersed with 2-3 average travelers in between. After half an hour, nearly all of these Heine-bound travelers had crossed.

Tim was slightly angry that such a heavily guarded area now allowed so many people to pass through. But he couldn't do anything about it because it seemed there were exceptions to the strict rules. The word "corruption" came to mind, and it ned at him. This word didn't fit well into his previously loyal worldview. Somehow, he felt a sense of aversion towards it.

While dealing with the papers, he didn't notice a commotion in the line. When everyone turned around, he looked up as well. A traveler was dragged out of the line, supported under the armpits by two others, and pulled away from the gate. Before that, the traveler must have received a few punches to the stomach, judging by the sounds and the hunched posture. Tim had no doubt about what had happened and knew the inspectors' methods. If someone seemed suspicious to them, they would be subjected to torture.

Then suddenly, Mara stood before him. Tim didn't want to drag out the time to avoid suspicion from Judith and the others, but he wanted to exchange a few words with her. The girl was more nervous than necessary, looking at Tim and the people watching them suspiciously. After the usual official questions, Tim added, repeating what he had rushed through the day before, "Please take care of yourself; you'll be in danger there. I'm sorry you didn't change your mind." He then entered the codes, and Mara started towards the gate.

Every fiber of Tim's being protested, and he suddenly realized what he was doing. Then he thought, if others could break the rules, why couldn't he? He pressed the departure button. The loud buzzing started, the blue light swelled in the round teleporter, and Mara stepped through it without looking back. Tim watched her disappear with worry, and then the buzzing began to fade, and the light vanished.

It worked, and no one stopped him. He felt almost triumphant. This was his first act of defiance against the authorities, and he couldn't help but marvel at his courage. He had done it.

And the world went on. More papers, more codes.

Then suddenly, the travelers were all gone, and Noir and Judith approached the gatekeeper.

"Did everyone on the list go through?" Judith asked. Tim nodded and began organizing the documents in the folder for the afternoon's administration. Judith continued, "Could you take care of the ones on the list before lunch?"

Tim also intended to delete Mara from the system as quickly as possible, but Judith didn't need to know that. "Of course, I'll take care of it quickly."

"Come up to the inn for lunch again," Noir called after him. And Tim hurried, afraid that someone might notice Mara's name in the system and download it.

At home, with trembling hands, he took out the papers and started deleting Mara. Since he didn't need to scan any documents, he changed the first letter of her name to S, as if it had been a typo. If they somehow retrieved these records from the system, there would be no trace of Mara. The deleted code was extended to two lines of numbers and letter combinations. Despite his efforts, he messed it up several times and had to start over. It was already lunchtime, and his stomach was growling. By the time he finished with everything, it was past one o'clock.

He took the list with him and hurried to the inn. Sara was the first to look up at him at the door, visibly relieved, and quickly brought him his lunch. "I was so worried that something happened to you, Tim. I know you wouldn't miss a meal!"

They had both finished eating, Judith sat a bit sullenly, and Noir was puffing on his pipe, having remembered to bring his supplies this time, unfazed by the potential annoyance to others.

Tim ate quickly, then handed the paper with the names to Judith.

"Thank you, Tim. I'll stay for a few more days because we found counterfeit papers that we couldn't tell were fake. There might be more inspectors around the gate."

"Does that mean they're checking my work?" Tim asked, frowning.

"Not necessarily your work, but there will be more people helping you spot suspicious things. Due to the limited number of rooms at the inn, some people might be lodged with you and Noir."

Tim nodded, but his mind was more occupied with the circumstances that might reveal what he had done today. Not from the system. Again, it was Sara he worried about. Could he really trust her?