After waking up, I again took a shower under the waterfall, I ate a simple breakfast and packed for the trip, this time with a goal to check those windows. I made sure to bring my journal, so I could record my discoveries more closely. Of course, I also packed a gun, a machete, food, a small torch, tinder and flint - just in case the formations I’d seen the day before turned out to be caves. I decided to approach the waterfall from the back.

Walking to the waterfall, I noticed something I hadn’t before: a small, winding path that approached the escarpment at a sharp angle. It had been hidden in the twilight, but now, in the daylight, it was unmistakable.

When I reached the top of the waterfall, I realized that the sun, though high in the sky, hid the stone windows in shadow. I crouched down for a moment - being an archaeologist had taught me patience and the understanding that sometimes looking longer reveals more. But I found nothing new: no movement, no hidden structures, just the constant flow of water.

So I decided to return to the path I'd noticed earlier. It turned out to be very comfortable - it wasn't very steep, and in places, some of the stones even seemed to serve as steps. I walked this path a little further away from the boulder itself, but it still remained within my sight. After descending the slope, the path turned quite decisively in the direction I wanted to go. The terrain wasn't very exposed, so I decided to take advantage of this and approach the boulder without alerting anyone who might be there.

To my surprise, the path led me to a clearing of sorts beneath the boulder. When I emerged into this clearing, I must have been so shocked that I stood there uncovered, not even bending down, for several minutes. No matter how I interpreted it, no matter how long I looked, it wouldn’t have been any other way - I was standing in front of a house, maybe even a palace. It had everything you needed: doors, windows, glass in the windows, even the vegetation around it seemed to be planted with thought rather than wild.

The realization hit me like a wave. This wasn’t just a natural formation. Someone had built this. But who? And why? The jungle had swallowed it whole, hiding it from the world for decades - or centuries, or maybe it was built into the jungle? I crouched to examine the ground, my fingers brushing against the stone. It was smooth, almost too smooth, as if shaped by hands rather than erosion.

As my fingers wandered along the wall, they reached the door and found the handle. It was... ordinary. I didn't make any decisions; it was more of a reflex. I opened it. Behind it was a short hallway with an alcove that held coats and shoes, which ended with a staircase. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that the clothes belonged to an adult man and woman. They weren't worn, old-fashioned, but rather typical clothes you'd find in a European home. A tailored suit, a silk blouse, a pair of leather boots.

I looked around for a while and was about to head for the stairs when I saw a light switch on the wall. Again, I felt like I'd crossed a certain line of comprehension, so my mind stopped caring about any safety precautions, so I rather thoughtlessly flipped the switch and turned on the light. In the light, I saw more details: an umbrella, a carpet, some paintings, wood paneling. My brain began to scream in protest - a European hallway in the middle of the jungle? - simply „no”. Nevertheless, I headed for the stairs. Upon reaching the second floor, the entire European apartment came into view. I entered a high, wide hallway with large windows facing the waterfall that had drawn me here, glass panels letting in plenty of light (even though the sun was on the other side). The door on the other side was open, and I spotted shelves of books. Instinctively, I went to examine them.

there were a huge number of books, and they caught my attention - such is the fate of scientists - biology, physics, alchemy, magnetism, fantasy, poetry - everything one could wish for. It was as if the entire intellectual universe had been compressed into this one room. I ran my fingers along the spines. My mind raced, cataloging the possibilities: a hidden archive, a lost library, a time capsule? But before I could dive deeper, I heard female voice:

"He's absent."