Looking for what’s not there

Sherlock Holmes and Watson were camping, Sherlock woke Watson in the middle of the nights and asked "what do you see, and what does that tell you?"
Watson replied " the stars and the moon, it makes me think of the vastness of the universe and how we make up such a tiny corner of things in the wonder of all that surrounds us" Sherlock replied
"It makes me think someone has stolen our tent"

I love metaphor and storytelling, they are such a beautifully efficient ways to hammer a idea home, they shine a light on what is there, giving us clarity. but in doing so they hide the thing that is missing.
How do we "yes and" our metaphors? how do we pause to recognise the things that are not there? what does it mean to make visible the things we can't see?