“The perfect combination of luck and genius is what we like to call a miracle.”

“How does one know whether he is a genius or not?”

“One cannot know, because a genius is not ‘one’.”

“What? No, I meant ‘one’ as in ‘someone’.”

“You see? A genius does not know he is a genius because a true genius does not need to know that he is a genius. Only a genius wannabe would need to know whether or not he is a genius or not.”

“He? What if it’s a woman?”

“Well, you’re not a woman, are you?”

“Ah… I see. Well, not see as in vision, but as in that I understand, if you understand.”

“A true genius also would not need so much effort to make sure that he is understood.”

“What are you to say that?”

“A genius, of course!”

“But you just said that a genius does not need to know that he is a genius.”

“Yes, exactly. I do not need to know, because I already know this truth.”

“What?”

“I have no desire to know whether or not I am a genius, because I know that either way, I am a genius.”

“But that’s so counterintuitive!”

“No, it’s not. The reason why you are still here asking why I know whether or not I am a genius just proves your inconfidence. Since you are so unsure of yourself, you would not know that you are a genius, even if you were one. Except you’re not.”

“Harsh.”

“The world in itself is harsh. Ever heard of survival of the fittest?”

“Yeah, I have. Something about that in evolution, right?”

“Look, you are stuck here in this time gap, asking your shoe shiner whether or not you are a genius, while you are not even sure of yourself.”

“Of course!”

“If you need to prove to others that what you are thinking is what you are thinking, are you even actually thinking anything?”

“What? Who are you even?”

“I think you should know the answer to that yourself.”

“Will I be stuck here forever, watching you shine my shoes?”

“No, no. You are not frozen in time.”

“Then what is this?”

“You see, a gap is a space, so a time gap is a space in time.”

“No, I don’t see.”

“Well, you took a vacation to the fourth world in your head.”

“In my head? Then am I imagining this?”

“No, this is definitely reality because I am definitely a genius.”

“How could this be reality?”

“You want to see whether or not you are a genius? Then you tell me. Break out of this.”

“I can’t.”

“Then you're not a genius.”

“If you are a genius, can you ‘break out of this’?”

“Of course I can.”

“Then why are you here?”

“I am stuck here because this is your time gap. If I had my way, I would never even have been here in the first place.”

“My time gap? Then why can't I get out of it?”

“Because you're not a genius.”

“I thought everyone is a genius in their own way though?”

“True, except you are not ‘everyone’.”

“Then what is your name?”

“If I had a name, I would be a real character, except real characters are people.”

“Why can't you be a person?”

“People are not geniuses, and since I am a genius, I am not a person, and therefore, I am not a real character.”

“Then am I a person if I am not a genius?”

“Congratulations, you are not a true moron.”

“So can I break out of this?”

“Yes, you can.”

“So will I be a real character?”

“As a real character, you will be able to do your own actions. You will have your own story. A genius like me will never enjoy such a delicious luxury.”

“Huh? Me? A real character?” He asked.

•••03