Years ago I read a Twilight Zone story that explained a common phenomenon. There are these little elves, you see, who go around painting each moment in time, like a picture. And the main character in the story accidentally stumbles upon a place that hasn't been painted for that particular moment in time. In other words, he's in an alley that ends in nothing. The elves didn't draw and paint it because no one was supposed to be there. So supposedly, these elves are doing this painting one minute ahead of actual time. Obviously, this is a rush job. And occasionally, they forget things.
It was clear to me that this author had the same problem all of us have at one time or another. We leave something somewhere. We come back later and it's gone. We come back a second time, and there it is, right where we left it. So the author decided that the elves just forgot to put it there. After all, they've got a big job. They can't possibly get every detail of the world correct every minute of the day. And so, the story concludes, if ever you can't find something, come back later and it will probably be right where you left it.
Now, some of you might remember that I lost my keys a while back. I found them yesterday. They were in a place I had already searched thoroughly. Twice. I don't really believe in elves, but how does that happen??
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