Now I understand everything. I feel slightly dizzy, my head aches, and the priest looms over me. He tries to read my thoughts while I hardly dare to breathe, waiting for him to realize what truly happened. And yes, I see it — his body tenses, and anger flares in his eyes.

It's impossible that I met the woman for the first time just the day before yesterday, on that windy Friday. I haven't seen a storm this fierce in my entire life. I hunkered down in my small booth, waiting for those eager to teleport.

I have my regulars: the shy elf who always requests to be teleported to the same place at the same time every day and hands over the exact fare with precise calculation. Or the cheerful dwarf girl who always brightens my day. It can't be easy for her, traveling at least ten times daily, always collecting something or fulfilling some quest. I'm not sure; I've never talked to them; they hand over their cards and step through the gate indifferently.

So, on this windy day, after I finished nailing the sign back up, a deep female voice says, Heine.

Heine? In this storm, to the middle of the sea? I look up and see an orc woman standing before me. Her auburn dreadlocks were piled up atop her head, her eyes were emerald, and her lips were blue from the cold—or had they always been like way? Her gaze sparkles, and as if struck by a club, I avert my eyes and retreat to my booth. That's better. Suddenly, I remember why I'm here, but somehow, my memory blanks out, and I can't recall what she said.

"Excuse me, where did you want to go again?" She says, "Heine," smiling, and the word leaves my head again. My mouth hanging open, I gaze at her until the hammer escapes my grasp and clatters noisily at my feet, at which point I snap out of it. I'm sweating and feeling hot, and I turn towards the teleporter. What's happening to me? I press the button, but there's an error. I nervously fiddle with it, realizing I haven't yet input the destination. I dare to look up only when I nervously raise my hand to type in the place.

The lights in the square in front of the temple glow blue, and the image of the woman stands out sharply against the background. My heart is pounding wildly. Love at first sight? With an orc woman? But they're sluggish, tall, masculine, and on top of that, beautiful women come through here all the time. And yet, I chose her? What on earth has gotten into me?

I raise my hand and type something in. She thanked me with a smile, and I said nothing, fearing no sound would come out of my throat.

She walks towards the gate, and as the bluish teleport light flickers, she steps through without looking back. The moment she vanishes, I relax and turn to the next traveler, who has been trying to get my attention for a while. I focus on typing in the correct codes, but everything works perfectly now, as if the whole episode was just a bad dream.

But still, something has changed. I can smell the horses and the stench of the sewers, which I hadn't noticed before or even paid attention to. After closing up, I head home, and it's strange; like a newborn, I'm marveling at things. The carved angel statues on the gate, how graceful they are! Have they always been here? Or I notice the long cobweb-like crack in the wall of my room. When did that happen? That night, I dream of standing face-to-face with the orc woman again, unable to breathe, tossing and turning all night. My shirt went drenched by morning, and I woke up with a headache.

I throw myself into the new day with unusual cheer, greeting the travelers with enthusiasm, who are surprised at me — this isn't what they're used to.

Then the orc woman comes again, and my legs tremble once more. She says Heine and I managed to ask for her card this time. But checking whether she has permission to travel to Heine feels improper. My heart pounds wildly; I feel like I'm about to faint, and my hands shake like an older man's. Somehow, common sense pushes through the trembling mess of my body, and I read her card's level. Now I realize — she doesn't have access to Heine, and I let her through yesterday. It hits me again like a blow; the world spins, and I lift my hand to type in the code. I only glimpse her back as she vanishes into the bluish light.

She stays with me in my thoughts for the rest of the day. I recall the curve of her lips, imagining running my palm through her silky hair and looking into her eyes... I keep getting dizzy and have to sit down.

This feeling is too much for me. I'm not young anymore, but despite all my experience, it seems my heart has chosen its path, ignoring my mind. Over an ugly orc woman whom I haven't even spoken to and only seen twice.

As usual, the city flows around me, yet I turn my head at every raised voice as if waiting for something. I feel like I'm losing my sanity, and my heart is winning; I should give in to this burning feeling, and then everything seems to settle and fall into place.

I managed to sleep at night and sort out my thoughts. Unfortunately, I can't remember if I let her go to Heine or sent her somewhere else. Everything's so confusing. It's like a fog descends on my brain whenever I see her. But today will be different. I'm going to talk to her. I will manage. I'll look into her murky orc eyes and tell her she cannot go to Heine!

I spent the whole day waiting, but she didn't come. Instead, the priest and the prefect stood before me with furrowed brows.

They asked me about an orc caught in Hellbound, a forbidden area where only special permission allows teleportation. They saw in the system that she departed from there.

I open my mouth, but it feels glued shut. What should I say? I have no idea what happened to me or where I sent her.

The priest asks patiently, and I answer like an undead. Their gazes rest on me, expectant. I have to explain why I let her teleport to a forbidden zone. The weight of their stare makes my left arm go numb.

Somehow, I blurt out that she wanted to go to Heine. She wasn't supposed to go there either, but I have no idea how she ended up in Hellbound.

The world spins, and the next thing I know, the priest is examining my eyes.

"Enchanting," he says. That's all.

It frightens me a bit to realize she had such power over me. The priest will investigate this new kind of magic I was powerless against. Meanwhile, the prefect moved me from my post.

I am immensely disappointed, mostly in myself. What am I going to do now?

As I walked home, I noticed many orc women on the streets. I hadn't even realized before how gracefully they walk. I catch myself staring at them. I must still be under the spell.

The end