It's been a few months since May ended up at Hogwarts in 1943. Almost every day was similar to the previous one, and if at first it seemed to her that she would solve an unexpected and difficult problem very quickly, then the more she was at school, the harder it was for her to keep her cool. She understood that she was at a dead end. Rumors about their relationship with William spread very quickly around the school. May couldn't blame people for this, although she was very annoyed at times. She decided that there was no point in trying to convince or explain that they were just friends. May understood that they spent suspiciously much time together, if only because Will accompanied her on night outings, to the library, to the Great Hall, and even just for a walk. William noticed that something was wrong with May, but he could not get a clear answer and came to the conclusion that it was better to wait until she decided to tell everything. It was Ann who gave him this idea when they were playing chess, and he poured out his heart to her. Ann suggested that May is having a very hard time right now because of the transfer to another school, and she can't get used to it. When she asked what they were doing together in the Forbidden Section, William decided to tactfully keep silent, saying that May wanted to make her essay for Slughorn even better. The days would have been empty and gray if not for one serious matter. One day, May returned earlier to the Gryffindor living room, promising Will that she would change into a warmer sweater and they would go to Hogsmeade for a butter beer. When she entered the girls' room, she froze right at the entrance, staring at how her belongings were strewn about; the mattress had been ripped by a sharp tool, and the fluff from the pillow had landed on chandeliers and bedside tables.

She slowly walked closer to her bed. Her heart was pounding in her chest, and the cut on the mattress revealed that Riddle's diary was gone. She slowly looked around. Her bedside table was also completely gutted and things from it were lying next to the bed.

"Those were my favorite eye shadows," May sighed, her gaze fixed on the brown crushed patch on the floor. "Why in the fuck would anyone want Riddle's diary?"

"Who could steal Riddle's diary, and who could need it so much that this someone decided to gut my pillow and bed?" thought May, cleaning up the mess with a wave of her wand and watching as the pillow was stuffed with down again and the incision disappeared on the mattress.

May began to wonder whether there had ever been a time when she could have let it slip. There was not a single case that came to her mind. As she cleared up the room, she took another look around. She went through all of her bags, textbooks, and notebooks looking for evidence, but all she found was spilled ink. She had only one thought: how could anyone has known Riddle's diary was in her possession? She sat down on the bed, lost in thought, and forgot for a while that Will was waiting for her at the Tower's door. She then slowly pulled on a huge brown sweatshirt, remembering him.

"What if Riddle's friends or he somehow found out about it?"

This was the first thought with which she left the Gryffindor living room, pretending that nothing had happened, but her face was so eloquent that in the school yard, Will asked

"Are you all right? You look like you saw some kind of monster there."
"Yes…".

"It doesn't look like it. May, I want to help you. I could do it only if you wanted to tell me what was bothering you."

"Can you promise me that no one will find out?"

"Yes, I can promise you that."

"One very important thing was stolen from me. When I returned to the girls' room today, I found that my things were scattered, the mattress was torn, and a very, very important thing for me was missing."

"And after that, you say everything is fine with you?" Will raised one eyebrow in wonder. "Things important to you have been stolen, and your room has been turned upside down. By the way, what was that thing?"

They were going down the hill. Gravel crunched beneath their boots, and they could hear the hum of Hogsmeade voices in the distance. Heavy gray clouds were slowly drifting in from the north, but the weather was calm. A light breeze blew lightly on their faces rather than whipping them.

"Personal diary," May replied, and she saw Will's face become even more strange.

"You're so calm, like it's not a very important thing. As if a hair clip was missing."

"No, actually, I'm very upset and scared, because this is the most important thing for me, and I wouldn't want it to fall into the wrong hands, but I can't fix anything right now, so there's no point in whining."

"A very healthy statement." He smiled at her gently and added, "I'll help you look. Is there anything else I should know?"

"Yes. I would like you to listen carefully to what they say in your department. It seems to me that my diary is there, but I can't even imagine who could just walk into the Gryffindor living room, enter the women's bedroom, and take the diary. Besides, it looks like the one who stole the diary didn't know where to look for it and just broke my things."

"Wow, did you also join the general hatred of my faculty?" he grinned, at which May just rolled her eyes and stopped. Will stopped, too, and she turned to him, looked into his eyes, and said:

"No, I didn't join the hate. I don't think your faculty is guilty of all these sins, but I think it's there because..." she faltered. She was silent for a while, and Will just stared intently into her face and waited for her to continue.

"Because?" he urged her on, tilting his head slightly to the side.

"This... It's difficult. It's really very difficult." She guiltily averted her eyes and said, "I know you really want to help me, but if I start telling you why I really think you need to look in your department, then you'll think I'm crazy."

"I didn't tell you, May, but I have a pretty strong mind, and I won't cry if you tell me about these complicated and scary things," he smiled, and May just snorted and went on, getting lost with the crowd. Will caught up with her already near the candy store, from where a pleasant vanilla-licorice smell was coming.

"Are you offended?" He asked and added, "No offense, May. I'm kidding. I didn't mean to say that there are no things that could scare me. But don't forget which faculty I'm from and who I have to study with. If you knew how people are bullied by Rosier and Nott, then you wouldn't make hasty conclusions about me."

"Is it so scary?" asked May when they were almost at the Three Brooms and were wondering whether to enter a crowded pub.

"Let's just say I saw their victim recently. He spent four weeks at St. Mungo's. He has scars all over his body.

"I heard about it from James. He said that no one had ever caught Nott or Rosier red-handed."

They watched people come in and out of the pub, not daring to go in there and believing that there would be no place for them. Unexpectedly, Will offered to come in, take a punch with him, and take a walk in the woods. This weekend, Hogsmeade was surprisingly full of people, and it was difficult to talk so that no one could hear them. They decided it would be better to take drinks and some food with them and go for a walk. The pub was stuffy, noisy, and full of people, and they had to squeeze through the crowd while trying not to spill the punch. When they finally found themselves on the street, they walked for a while in silence to the edge of the forest down the hill, watching the pale sun trying to break through the dense curtain of gray clouds. The Forbidden Forest stood silently overhanging them with spreading crowns, and the spruce smell carried on the wind. May took a deep breath, inhaling the cold autumn air through her nose. She didn't know how she would tell the whole truth to Will, but she knew for sure that he wouldn't give up on the idea of finding out what exactly had been bothering her for two months. Now he was just delicately giving her time to think and therefore keeping silent.

They were walking along a path between tall trees with impressive trunks. Suddenly it became unusually quiet, and the falling leaves rustled underfoot, and the steps softly sprung under the thick carpet of small fallen spruce needles. Will dutifully waited for May to speak, sipping a hot, sweet punch and not daring to start eating a chocolate bun. Suddenly, she stopped. The spreading branches of spruce trees hid them from prying eyes, opening a view of a small clearing surrounded by a dense wall of trees and entwined with roots. She turned to Will and said:

"Everything I'm going to tell you now will sound damn stupid, but you have to swear to me that this secret will stay with you until I tell you that you can talk about it out loud."

"What is your middle name?"

"What? Why is that?" May did not understand, but noticing a wandering smile on his face, she said

"May Sophia Lawson"

"I, William Alfred Black, swear to keep the secret of Miss May Sophia Lawson under any circumstances until Miss May Sophia Lawson herself allows me to break this oath," he said with a smile, jokingly turning his palm to her.

"I'm taking you at your word," May giggled. It turned out to be a little nervous, and she took another deep breath and sipped the punch, pushing aside a fir branch and going out to the edge. She suggested that Will walk again. Talking while walking was a little easier for her.

"I'm not from here. And I don't mean now that I'm from another country. Do you know anything about Time-turners?"

"Yes, I know about it. And I know how they work," Will nodded, watching closely May, whose face was of an incomprehensible shade.

"Great, so you know that the Time-turners send people into the past? The number of turns is equal to the number of hours. If you need to go back three hours, then you need to make three turns of the flywheel."

"I know." Will nodded with a slight smile. He wanted to say something about the obvious things that May was saying, but he decided that she was so tuned into the conversation.

"Do you remember we went to the Forbidden Section several times? Especially the first time we met Tom afterwards," she clarified, gathering her thoughts. She couldn't just tell Will everything without setting the stage for it.

"Of course. Then they stupidly tried to withdraw points from your house.

"That day I was looking in the library for a book or any mention of how it is possible to endow the abilities of the flywheel of time with any other object."

"I think I'm starting to see what you're getting at," Will remarked, adding, "You didn't just go out of strong curiosity to look for information about this, did you?"

"No, not out of strong curiosity." May shook her head, and Will said slowly, slightly narrowing his eyes:

"Do you mean to say that you are not just not from this country but also not from this time? Is that what you're implying?"

"Yes," May breathed, feeling relieved that she had overcome the first part of her confession, and Will himself guessed what she was hinting at, so she did not need to say it out loud. He was silent for a while, looking at her face as if she had become something else for him now. May, on the contrary, began to worry that it would be better if she kept silent or came up with some stupid reason why she was sad and anxious. She was afraid that Will would either laugh in her face or tell the teachers about everything.

"Don't be silent! Please, say something." May couldn't stand it.

"Say? What can I say?" He said it in surprise, gathering his thoughts. "You claim that you are not from this time, and judging by what you were looking for in the Forbidden Section, some object was turned into a portal that brought you here, isn't it?"

"My God, Will, you are so smart!" May suddenly breathed a sigh of relief, saying, "You understood everything correctly, and I didn't have to spend hours trying to explain it to you by hints."

"Wow, for the first time in two months, I hear your admiration for me." He chuckled with a slight smile, but May could see from his face that he was pleased with himself and her praise.
"So you're really not from this time? Then where are you from, and why are you here? I think that's not all you wanted to say. If you were an ordinary time traveler, you'd be jumping for joy right now that you're here, but you're gloomy all the time."

"Wow! I don't even have to waste time here!" She smiled broadly, and Will just rolled his eyes and squinted.

"May, I am not stupid, and to understand your situation, you do not need to be a gray-haired old man who has learned the whole truth of this world. So, what's wrong with your world?"

"I'm from Hogwarts. It is 1996. In my time, they threw me something that brought me here. I do not know who did it, why, or how he was able to enchant this item, because Julius Helmet claims in his book that this is ancient goblin magic."

"Seriously?! 1996? Now it's clear why you're not like the other girls at school and behave differently."

"But that's not the main thing." May waved away, laughed nervously, and said, "My God, Will, it's going to be so difficult now. You don't know how fast my heart is beating. After all, I just found out about it myself, and I can't accept it in any way."

"And what is it?" He smiled at her encouragingly, finishing his punch and looking at May turn pale and blush, still unable to get her thoughts together. Her nervousness scared him a little.

"This thing... Maybe, I'll start with it. This thing that was stolen from me today does not belong to me. This thing was turned into a portal, but in my time, this thing was destroyed even when I was in my second year."

"Personal diary, right?" Will clarified: "And who owns this personal diary if it's not yours?"

"You'll never guess, and you won't believe it." May smiled shyly and giggled nervously, feeling her fingers getting cold and goosebumps running through her body.

She paused and finally said it with great difficulty.

"Tom Riddle is the owner of the diary."

"What?"

"Yes. This diary belongs to Tom Riddle."

"Is this a joke?" Will looked more amazed than when he guessed that May was not from this time. May actually thought that the idea of a time traveler seemed nice to him, but the fact that Riddle was the owner of the stolen diary amazed him more.

"Wait. Wait, so you want to say that in your time you were given a Tom's diary, and the diary sent you to the past, here. You've been hiding this diary all this time and trying to figure out how it was enchanted, and now the diary has been stolen, but since you hardly told anyone about it, you can't even imagine who could find out about it and steal it?"

"You're just incredible again," said May. "I didn't tell anyone and I never showed it to anyone and I always erased Tom's name from its cover. It looks like an ordinary notebook in a black leather cover."

"Oh shit..."

Will drawled, feverishly wondering what he could do now. He involuntarily ran his hand through his hair, slowing down his pace. They did not notice how they came to the lake. May expected what he would say, but he just kept silent, and then when they stood at the water's edge and looked at the cold water, he said.

"This is a shitty situation. But May, I will do my best to find you, who stole this notebook, and where it is now. Moreover, I will try to find out what Riddle knows about it."

"Will, thank you, but it could be dangerous. You can just listen to what they say and what rumors there are," May suggested, but Will just grinned and shook his head.

"You will be searching for centuries for who stole the diary. If Riddle knows and one of his fans did it, then you need to look for his diary. You can't do it, and if you try, Riddle will know about it instantly. By the way, how did you get his diary? I doubt very much that he gave it to you for safekeeping or to read."

"Well, this is the next part of my big confession."

"And what is it about?"

"Just don't laugh, okay? And if you're surprised as much, then I allow you to swear dirty because it's difficult to digest such information without it."

"I'm already burning with curiosity about what the new part of the confession is about," he grinned, turning to May.

"Tom Riddle is my father in the future."

"What the fuck?"

Will didn't even have time to think as the words burst out of his mouth, and his eyes widened in surprise so much that May thought he was going to burst.

"Are you kidding me? No, you are… Uh-uh... Is this not a joke? Is this not a prank?"

They talked for several hours. May spoke calmly, and Will did not interrupt her, only occasionally swearing and then immediately apologizing to her. His eyes widened with horror and surprise, and he listened attentively to every word. May told about Harry, about how he bravely resisted him, about how Tom tried to kill him but could not, about the fight at the Ministry of Magic, and about how the truth was revealed to her for the first time that hard night. She told how she was afraid that her friends would never be with her after everything that happened, but they accepted her and supported her. Will was silent when she finished the story. The silence lasted for a long time, and May only heard birds chirping somewhere high in the treetops and saw the water surface diverging in waves.

"That is, Riddle will go crazy and decide that he is a pure-blooded wizard and he has the right to kill everyone around, and a baby will stop him?"

"That's right"

"Fuck, what the fuck is going on there?"

"And he will leave you?"

"Yes"

"And he will appear only after sixteen years. without saying a word to you?"
"Yes."

"Asshole"

"And his Death Eaters, as you said, will protect you and know about you even before you find out?"

"That's exactly what I think."

"That is, you have never met at all? Not once at all? There wasn't even a hint?"

"No"
"Fuck. I'm sorry."

"It's okay"

"And now you think that asshole Riddle can help you? Just him?"

"Yes. I'm sure he might know something about it. And I think I was sent here for a reason. But Tom doesn't know who I am. We never really talked, even at this time."

"I've never heard a more fucked-up thing than now," he said with feeling.

"You promised not to judge me," May reminded Will, to which Will said:

"I'm not judging you in any way. I'm generally shocked by what you've been through and what Riddle will turn into. And I'm also surprised you haven't said anything to him all this time. You have strong nerves."

"I had a great desire to do this on the first day, but I realized that it was useless because he doesn't know me."

"So, he somehow already knew that you were supposedly from Durmstrang?"

"Yes. So, I think he can help me."

"It's weird. And I don't really believe it. In his help to you. Let's go back to the castle. It's already cold."

"Are you really not going to tell anyone anything?" May asked when they were almost at school, climbing up the slope. She really wanted to believe that Will was on her side. She needed an ally more than ever. He stopped abruptly and looked into her eyes.

"May, I gave you my word. I'll help you, no matter what it takes. I like you, and you're sweet and kind, and I was lucky with a girl for the first time in my life."

"Wow, easy." May blushed at his words: "We're friends, right?"

"Of course. We're also friends." He smiled slyly and winked at her.

When they returned to school, the clock had long been showing half of the fourth o'clock. Dusk had fallen outside the window, and it was necessary to prepare for dinner. All this time, May was sitting by the fireplace in the living room, warming up. In the forest, she was unusually hot, and sweat rolled down her back from the confession, but now that she had calmed down, she was unusually cold. May herself did not know if it made her feel better to confess to Will. But now she had an ally. For some reason, she had no doubt that William would really help her. She was more worried about who might have stolen the diary. She was sitting lost in her thoughts, not paying attention to anyone, when Ann's sharp question brought her out of this state.

"May, the faculty boy of Slytherin is looking for you for some reason."

"Riddle?" trying not to show unexpected fear, she asked, to which Ann replied,

"Tom is looking for you. He's waiting outside in front of a portrait of a fat lady. Are you all right? Did you want to meet him?"

Ann's voice sounded uncertain, and she looked worried. May, realizing that the person who stole the diary had already told Tom everything a long time ago, stood up, turned to Ann, and said:

"Tell Will about this situation, okay?"

"Yes. I'll tell him." She nodded. "Don't you need help? I can call Elliot."

"No, it's fine," May lied, realizing that she didn't want to get Elliot into trouble, who was already in huge trouble with Riddle.

"Harry probably feels the same way, only his situation is much worse," May thought nervously, feeling fear squeeze her heart. She tried to give herself confidence, but somehow it turned out badly. She came out of the living room and noticed Tom at the window. There was not a shadow of indignation or anger on his face. She came closer to him as if nothing had happened at all.

"I thought you weren't coming out of the living room," he remarked in a calm tone.

"Why would I?"

"I think you know why, don't you?" He calmly retorted and added, "I suggest we walk a little together. There are too many ears."

"Of course, I know," May did not deny, "And I think you will regret inviting me to take a walk now. You have no idea, Tom Marvolo Riddle, how many things I want to tell you."

"Are you sure I'm going to regret it?" He grinned, and for the first time, May realized that he was still annoyed.

"I'm sure," she squinted, "We didn't have a chance to talk and you avoided me so diligently that you already came. I know why you're here, and I know that you have this thing, and you probably really want to know why I've had it all this time. Are you suggesting we walk and talk? Come on. Let's do it, because I've been waiting for it for so long that there's no way to postpone it anymore."

For a moment, surprise flashed across Tom's face, and May realized that she had pushed his buttons. Tom in her time was a strong adult wizard, but the current Tom is a sixteen-year-old who hasn't really learned how to avoid sharp corners yet. They were on the same level, except that he had been used for calculating options with a cold mind since school, and she was just learning to do it, and it went from bad to worse. Harry solved all the problems concerning Voldemort or his henchmen. Harry was used to it, and he used to be the first when it came to Voldemort. May didn't have such a skill, and she could hardly know what to do.

"Are you mad at me?" he asked with a surprised grin.

"Yes. I'm mad at you. And if we find out that we both know why you came, then we're already going for your walk," May replied grumpily, walking forward down the corridor.

Tom looked after her in surprise and followed her, catching up at the turn to the stairs.

"So I don't have to act out scenes and get words out of you," he remarked as they walked down the stairs.

"Save your acting skills for the next time," May chuckled.

"Then let's get down to business, but first follow me and try not to mumble anything for extra ears under your nose," he said, firmly grabbing her elbow and walking briskly down the corridor.

May could barely keep up with him. His stride was half as long as hers. They stopped in front of a clean wall, and a moment later, in complete silence, a massive door appeared in front of him. It was a Room of Rescue, and May was surprised to discover that Tom knew about it too. But one thing she could not know for sure was whether this conversation would be in private or whether Tom would call his thugs and she would have to defend herself. The Room of Rescue was empty. And May sighed with great relief, and the nasty and sticky fear that bound her throat gradually disappeared, leaving a place of anxiety. Near the Gryffindor Tower, she was angry at him because, at any moment, she could run away and Tom would not do anything, knowing that at least half of the Gryffindor faculty would have to see what happened. But here they were alone. Just what May wanted so much. Involuntarily, she thought that she should be afraid of her desires. The rescue room was austere: a desk, two armchairs, a sofa, and a coffee table made of light wood. There was a green carpet on the floor, and bookcases filled with books stood against the wall. Somehow the room resembled Slytherin's living room, even though May had never been there. She looked around, noticing textbooks on transfiguration and charms on the table, from which May concluded that he was studying there instead of in the library. This is his safe and quiet place.

"Did you want to tell me something?" he asked in a calm tone, pointing to a chair and inviting her to sit down.

"Yes, I wanted to, but only after you," she agreed. "For sure, you have a lot of questions but so few answers. It will be funny if you have two diaries, not one."

"Do you really think it's funny?" he clarified, to which May chuckled and replied.

"Then my theory that this is an ordinary notebook only enchanted to be like your diary will be true. This is a common bait, and I swallowed it. You have a real diary at this time."

"In this time?" Tom repeated, and May grinned.

"Come on! You know what I'm talking about."

"No, I do not know." He shook his head. "There is only one reason why you are here now: I am very interested in who you are and how my diary ended up with you."

"Do you want to say that it wasn't you who made it up?" May didn't believe him.

"You didn't plant your diary for me; you didn't track me down when I was passing by the toilet on the fourth floor; you didn't break into the school... Okay, about getting into the school, I probably got too excited. You would have sent Bellatrix or Dolohov.

"I don't understand what you're talking about at all and why I have to sneak into the school and send someone to you, and even more so to plant my own day."

Tom looked annoyed. He was getting tired of this circus. They were both silent for a while, stubbornly looking each other in the face, and suddenly May was burned by the thought. Tom really did not know about anything that she had just told him. He looked annoyed beyond measure, and she was sure that he was starting to get mad at her, and if she hadn't yelled at him in the hallway, she would now be tortured by his thugs. But only because she started the conversation annoyed, Tom became interested and decided to start the conversation in a light form without torture or pain.

"Holy shit, you really don't know," was all she could say, causing Tom to arch one eyebrow. "If you knew, you probably wouldn't let a lot of things happen."

"What could I know and what could not happen?" he asked. "Maybe I'm annoyed, and it may end badly for you, and I recommend that you start talking straight."

"Fuck, well, it's a long story," she shrugged, chuckling.

"I'm not in a hurry." He folded his hands on his stomach, looking at her carefully, and May understood that now she had only one chance to talk to him because otherwise everything would depend on how quickly she would get the wand and how difficult it would be to fight with the Death Eaters.

She understood that now he was ready to listen to her just because, when he found out that his diary was in the hands of a new girl, he decided to act quickly. It was an unpleasant problem, and it had to be solved just as quickly as usual. May did not understand why she was so lucky. Their walk with Will helped her and saved her. Tom was furious when he found out about it, and May was sure of it. He managed to calm down and think about what to do next, but in the corridor, May's temper actually determined her fate.

She repeated her conversation with Will word for word, feeling that it was much easier to talk about it with Tom than with Black. May didn't know why she wasn't afraid to tell him directly about their kin. His face did not change in any way, and he did not swear like Will, so it was much more difficult to understand what he was thinking about. A couple of times, he just grunted but didn't interrupt her. May decided not to tell him about Harry, deciding that this was not the most important part of the story. When she finished, they sat in silence for a while. If in the forest she could listen to the birds singing, then here May felt like she was in a cage, realizing that her fate at school would depend on the accuracy of her story. She couldn't wait to find out which rat had stolen her diary.

She had no doubt that Tom could give her a living hell. He was silent, and then he said,

"What an entertaining story. And most importantly, I really want to believe that you're lying, but you're not lying."

"You can read minds," guessed May. "You would immediately understand if I lied to you."

"You know about this too," he said for the first time during their conversation. "Fun fact, but I didn't throw you my diary, and if you say that it was destroyed by Professor Dumbledore for some reason, then I'm at a loss to guess who might need to send you to me here."

"Why wouldn't you do it?"

"Why?" he asked with a shrug. "It doesn't make any sense at all. If I wanted to meet you, I would have found a lot of ways to lure you out of school or come for you myself."

"That's why I'm mad at you. You didn't even bother to look me in the eye," May snorted irritably, to which Tom only grinned.

"May, silly, I've done more for you than you might think."

"What is it?" she asked grumpily, and he said it with a slight half-smile.
"I let you go back to school, thinking that if you're there, you'll be safe. Whoever planted the diary for you probably knew that I would allow you to do this

"And now what?"
"Nothing. I'll keep an eye on you while your new friend William is desperately trying

to ask you out."

"We're friends"

"Are you trying to convince yourself or him of this?" he smiled. "And if you decide to visit the Forbidden Section, then let me know about it; I'll find you a pass."

"How nice of you. Is that a concern?" May snorted, to which Tom only smiled again.
"You could say that. Also, try to walk less at night; I would still like to know where my baby is."

In response, May only growled in disgust, and Tom laughed. May understood that he was just teasing her, and there was no hint of real concern here. He needed to think. Moreover, he had to decide why May was sent to him. May was sure that he had already guessed why she was here, but he didn't know what to do with her yet. These sweet words were nothing more than a fear that she might end up in the wrong hands. For some reason, May was sure that Tom guessed something more from her story than she could have thought.

"You've probably guessed something, and you just need to think about what to do next," she said. "And you're afraid that something so special is connected with me that if I were in the wrong hands, it could be dangerous for you."

"See, I don't need to explain anything to you, honey."

"Stop it!" she winced, and he smiled wider.

"And will you help me get out?" The question was naive, but May wanted to ask it.

"Don't you like it here?"

"No, I want to go home," she said firmly.

"I'll think about it,"

"That is, no?!"

He said nothing, and May just sighed and said,

"Is it so hard for you to help me? You left me before I was even born! You're an orphan too, Tom, and you've made me an orphan! It seemed to me that people who were made orphans do not make their children orphans."

May did not notice how quickly he changed his face and did not immediately realize that this was a sore subject, and she found his weak spot. He was about to go to the table and therefore got up from the chair. After her words, he firmly took her chin and leaned so close to her that she could feel the warmth of his face. She saw a prickly coldness in his eyes.

"Don't say things you might regret."

"I'm telling the truth," she said stubbornly, not looking away.

"Don't do this, May. You have to understand that right now we're having a nice conversation just because I'm interested in you. Otherwise, it would have ended sadly."

"I just need to know if you're going to help me or not."
"You guessed it a minute ago, and I didn't have to explain anything, and now you want me to spoon-feed you?"

She felt his hand on her chin weaken, and now he was looking curiously into her eyes.

"I clarified. God, what a problem you have with anger."

"May, honey, if I didn't want something, we wouldn't be talking," he said softly. It was the first time May had heard his soft tone. He let go of her chin and walked away to the table, casually asking,

"Are you hungry? Maybe you want something to drink?"

"We're going to dinner soon," she remarked, to which he agreed and yet patiently repeated his question.

May agreed to drink cherry juice, which was in his decanter on the table. She realized that it was not worth angering Tom. He might have believed her, but May could now see only part of what he could do to her if she started showing off. He couldn't answer her question directly, and he wouldn't even try in the future. He needs to think about how to use her and how she can be useful. May was well aware of this. This thought made her uncomfortable and even nervous. She wanted so much to get Tom to help her and find out the truth that, now that she had gotten what she wanted, she was not happy with the result.