It is Just a Virus

Chapter twelve

I go deep into the forest, on the trampled path. Trees, with a height of 20-story houses, with blue and purple leaves, glistened in the sun like scattered jewels. As the sun rose above the horizon, the shine of the leaves lightly illuminated everything around. But the higher the sun rose, the brighter they glittered. I covered my eyes with my hand, like a visor and moved on. I would like sunglasses now. Suddenly, glasses appeared on the eyes. Wow! To go on the road became more comfortable, I moved slowly, looking all around. Among the trees there was a grass of silvery color, which, with each step, increased in size. At first, the grass was knee-deep, then over the shoulder, and higher and higher than me. It seemed that now the grass would be as tall as trees. But then it began to decrease sharply, through every meter. The path led to a clearing dotted with flowers and the same silvery grass. In the middle of the clearing there was a house. Completely of glass, two-story structure. The light was on in the house. I did not hurry to go inside. I squatted down and touched the flower. Each petal is colored in different colors. Pink, green, purple, red, blue, yellow. The heart of the flower is a precious stone. Ellie, apparently, loves everything brilliant and expensive. Each flower in the clearing is unique and there is not one repeating. Unexpected shapes and colors, but inside each was a precious stone. Triangular flowers, on the corner of each - stone, spiral, with leaves in the form of a sign of infinity. Like a crumpled sheet of paper, in the shape of a cat's muzzle, even Saturn was there, along the ring of which shone with gleaming stones. The sun appeared above my head. I looked up, and opened my mouth in surprise. In front of me, it seemed it could touch the tops of the trees, it was not the sunny sphere that shone, but the ring shone with a blue-green light. It's like the sun, it did not warm, it just shone. The energy of the light was spreading a hundred meters around. It floated across the sky with considerable speed, trying to outrun the time itself.

I went to the house. I knocked, although I knew perfectly well that there was no one else besides me. Silence. I pulled the glass door to the side. The music began to play. Easy unobtrusive melody. On the right is the kitchen, black and white colors. On the left - living room, in yellow - blue shades. Ahead - a ladder, silver, to the second floor. Throughout the house are scattered soft chairs of golden color. I was starting to go crazy with the brilliance and brightness of the world of Ellie. How can she be here?

I go to kitchen. Opened the refrigerator. Oh! It is packed with food. Chicken meat, salads, desserts, fish, lobsters, five types of cheese, fruits and vegetables. The stomach growled. I took out a chicken leg and a tomato, mineral water and a piece of cheese. I took the plate and sat down at the table. While eating food, it was getting dark outside the windows. How long have I been here?

A glowing ring in the sky appeared Saturn. The planet swam through the sky slower than the "sun". I froze by the glass wall, sticking my nose to the glass, watching the celestial movement. It seems to me that I even stopped breathing from this spectacle. Where else can you see this? Why am I looking out of the house? I jumped out onto the porch, sat on the threshold of the house, and did not take my eyes off Saturn. The rings rippled around the planet, collecting stones around them on the way. Saturn slowly disappeared behind the horizon when another celestial body appeared behind the tree crowns. Also with rings, like the predecessor, but the rings are not made of dust and stones, but of stars. Who would have thought! In a super brilliant planet, there must be a brilliant satellite. Ellie does not know the measure! Although who am I to judge. A day in this world, and I terribly want to go home. I got up from the threshold and wanted to go into the house when I suddenly opened my eyes.

"Woke up," Ellie looked at me from above with a sweet little smile.

I lay on the bench on which we had just sat down. Strongly and a lot of blinking. I got up and sat down.

"How are you?" looking into my face, and no longer smiling, said Ellie. "I forgot that the first time you feel strange. But in five minutes you adapt."

Ellie leaned toward me, lightly touched my neck and took off the chip. Immediately put it back in the décolletage. I looked around my world, which was now perceived a little differently. After Ellie's motley and brilliant world, reality seemed oppressive. More oppressive than ever. Yes, I did not like her universe, but the real world, faded and mediocre.

"How much time has passed?" I mumbled.

"As usual, for about fifteen minutes."

"There's a day gone?"

"Twelve hours."

"Will you give me the number of those who make new worlds?"

"Everything is simple there, you go to Magnolia Street, you sit down on the far right bench. You leave a letter under the bench in a special pocket in which you write what you want. And you also leave the ID card number, from which the required amount is automatically withdrawn. After that, they leave the chip somewhere in the agreed place, and they tell you. How do you like my world?" Ellie opened her eyes so wide that she seemed to be listening to them.

Tell the truth or lie? True: "Very bright!" 

"Yes!" she jumped up from the bench and began to gesticulate excitedly. "I've been thinking it up for a month! For a month I painted flowers, trees, a house! I wanted to go as far as possible from this gray real and V-world. I'm tired of all! And this is only my world! Carter really does not like it very much. He speaks…"

Ellie said something, said something, said something. I didn't stop her, this is her creation, and she admires it. The image of  Patricia appeared before my eyes. What kind of world did she come up with? Why didn't her chip kick the new world out of the net?

"Dan, can you hear me?"

"Oh! Sorry! I have not yet fully recovered. What did you say?"

"I say, if you suddenly want I can give you other Universes. I have one common, there are already 130 people, and one more common, but there are only thirty residents. The second cooler, there’s a lot of exciting and interesting!"

"I’ll keep it on mind. I wanted to ask, where the glasses appeared from nowhere, where anything can appear, what do you want?"

"Not, only glasses. This Carter insisted. Bright him too," her thin voice was like a squeak.

My head started to hurt: "Ellie, let's get out of here. I'm home, still not fully recovered from the concussion. Can I come to you tomorrow, clarify a couple of points?"

She nodded and went to the exit. We walked in silence. I followed, along the way digesting everything I saw. Ellie opened the door to the gym and the music absorbed us. The students had fun, as if for the first time, pouring out all their energy in dancing. I waved to Ellie, who was no longer paying attention to me. She flew towards Carter.

I trudged to the exit. Fatigue fell like a heavy stone, and it seemed to me that I would fall any minute. Someone stepped on my foot, pushing me hard forward. I grabbed the girl next to me. Didn't fall! I turned to look at the shoes and froze. Green eyes looked at me with dismay. I looked down at the shoes, the heel began to peel off. Damn Dion! I clenched my fists so as not to do something stupid and not to slap him in the face. I turned around and walked faster towards the exit. What is he doing here anyway?