I got up and left. I left my gun and all my belongings behind; I didn't feel the need to take them with me. If I had been in danger, the gun would have been taken from me. After opening the door, I stepped out into the corridor I had already seen and headed towards the library (as I will tentatively call this room I had explored). This time I had a chance to take a closer look: it was indeed a library, but besides the bookshelves, there was, among other things, a fireplace with a fire burning, a large window overlooking the waterfall, a coffee table, and three armchairs. And she was sitting in the armchair. "Good evening," she said. "Tea?"

There was a kettle and two cups of tea on the table. "Please," I replied, and sat down in the armchair opposite.

She poured me some tea, which gave me some time to examine her more closely – I now had no doubt that she was a woman, only with an unusual face shape, skin and hair color and texture.

I decided to take the initiative a bit, so I said I needed some information, to which she replied that before she could answer my questions, she had to ask a few of her own first.

Her first question was about my amulet. At first, I wasn't sure what she was asking me about, so I didn't answer immediately. Only after a moment did I realize she was referring to my moth amulet: "Where did you get it?"

So I told her its history, or rather, summarized it: I inherited it, that I got it from my father, and he got it from his father, that it was an important artifact in my family, though shrouded in mystery. I have the impression that my answer disappointed my interlocutor. "In that case, tell me what's happening in the world."

I was a bit surprised by this request, and I had to make a bit of an effort to remember what I'd recently read in the newspapers (I didn't have much time for them because I was focused on preparing for this expedition, but something came to mind).

"Wilbur Wright, the..."

"...the inventor of the airplane. One of the Brothers."

"Yes... has died."

"Were there any new inventions?"

I explained what I knew about the development of modern aviation, the appearance of airplanes in the British military, the trend towards monoplanes, the new airspeed record (over 100 mph!), and the fact that bombs were dropped from an aircraft for the first time.

"So airplanes also became weapons. Where were these bombs dropped?"

"In the Italo-Turkish War, in Libya."

"Oh, there's been a sense of tension there for a long time."

"Charles Dawson brought the first five fragments of the Piltdown Man skull to the British Museum; this is finally the missing link between ape and man." - Here I could tell a little more as it was in fact something of my proffessional interest.

Subsequent requests for more removed the mask of reserve from my interlocutor's face. The more I told her, the more I saw in her childlike curiosity. Her knowledge was vast, from physics and biology to chemistry and mathematics.

At some point, I realized it was already dark outside. I asked the time. Without hesitation, she told me it was after 10 p.m. So I decided it was time for me to leave, which I did.

She offered to escort me. She took advantage of this to ask me more questions.

"A volcano erupted in Alaska, and in mid-April the Titanic sank."

"What Titanic?"

Well, the ship itself, though very luxurious and advertised in newspapers, might not have made it here as a curiosity. So I explained what I knew about it, but I was surprised by the highly technical questions that went beyond my knowledge, such as propulsion and what exactly caused the disaster (I knew it was a collision with an iceberg, but I had no idea where it hit or what damage the water ingress caused). After reaching the tent, I stoked the fire and thanked me for a pleasant evening. She said goodbye and was about to leave when she suddenly stopped and turned back.

"Can you show me your pistol?" I gave it to her. She deftly removed the magazine and pulled a small stick from its top. My face must have been expressionless, because she explained:

"Well, I didn't know what your intentions were, I wanted to be safe." And she left.

"Wait!" I shouted. "What's your name?"

"Silvana." And she left.

My mind is completely reeling, and I have a ton of questions: where did she come from, why didn't she ask my name, why does she look the way she does (though I might not ask for now), how does she even speak my language? I suspect her name comes from the latin word silva, which also raises some questions. Well, I finish my dinner and have to lie down. The weight of the day's emotions is only now sinking in. I hope to see you again tomorrow.