Quiet rustling filled big lecture hall. That and one clear voice. History professor was well known faultfinder so most student diligently moved their pens over copy books. The rest were at least pretending.

One female student however acted differently. She was sitting on the back row while wearing particularly boring expression. Her table was blank, not even one little note could be spotted. Strangely lecturer ignored her thoroughly. He knew it’s pointless to find faults in her.

After the bell ringed professor hurried away and students started to gather together. Only one female student was separate from the rest. Not isolated through. Just alone.

Solitariness was synonymous to her life history after all.

After a while the girl in her late teens or maybe early twenties was steady running to her apartments. And truthfully right now sports trainer from her university wouldn’t be able to find faults in her form too.

The girl was running and her headphones carried melodic rock music to her ears. Her steps followed after the bas beats. One step after another. She closed her eyes. Street was well known. Too much known.

She was so tired.

Slowly but surely even music, good music, couldn’t touch her.

“One moment, young lady.”

Wha-a...?

The girl nearly stumbled. And so she stopped at her tracks and opened eyes. A man stood just before her. His long hair was grey and blue eyes clear. This man had his hands behind his back and was smiling at her.

The girl frowned. She never noticed this stranger ahead and she was sure to check before blinding herself. But since she already stopped she could as well…

“Yes, sir?”

Somehow polite tone deemed necessary and so the girl frowned the second time, this one on herself through. Hm? Is this robe? I can’t see. She felt bugged. It was strange. Unnatural. And sure thing unnaturalness proceeded to the whole new levels in the instant.

I can’t see his face features. The girl quickly made two steps back.  

“Who are you?” – she started and yet immediately – “W-what… is this...?”

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She noticed. Her headphones were silent. The world was silent. Silent and motionless. Few cars which were around stopped. Humans inside them too. So as birds in the sky and bended trees and raised dust.

Then the man’s smile got a little bigger. And so he said:

 “Aren’t you fast, young lady. Just as expected, should I add? Yes, surely, just the way you ought to be.”

The girl measured the man with her eyes. She felt annoyed all of the sudden. Sure her face was pale, the whole world… thing was a mess but she still managed to feel annoyance. This one girl surely…

Her hands were trembling just a little though. She was scared. Who wouldn’t? But this girl’s tremble wasn’t from mere fear. Yes. Something changed. Finally, she found it. No, she was granted? But finally.

How long It had been? She was so tired.

Truthfully myriad people would envy her. She had loving parents. Her family wasn’t rich but not poor either. She was admitted to prestige universe with scholarship. She even looked above average, just enough to be popular with some cosmetic efforts.

And she was brilliant. Too brilliant for her own good. Nothing her peers found challenging was as such for her. Like never. From kindergarten to school and from school to university.

She never tried hard. With all her talents she had no goal, no dream. Even her future profession was picked on a whim. Nothing was interesting to her enough. She stopped watching films when they ceased to amaze her and stopped reading books when they ceased to surprise her.

She was so tired from dragging and dragging through these endless days.

And so right here, right now, she trembled. 

“…not an ordinal one at all.” – The man smirked in a strangely kind way.

“Your longing would anger others, young lady,” – he began, steady at length. – “Think about all people in need. Don’t you have everything while they have nothing? Surely you heard it more than once. Just wording was not as such. And you don’t even blame them. You are the strange one after all. So you adapted. You learned patience.

Surely people have it. Something they live for. Family, work, science, art. It’s not that hard to find out. One could complain but small things are not enough to grow so tired of life, young lady. But still… your thoughts never slipped. There never was a choice for you to just… end it.”

The man with features impossible to see through stopped. The girl remained silent. Her fluttering stopped too. Her eyes were calm and deep. So the man nod once. 

“You was born in a wrong time, young lady. What you should have become is non-existent in your world’s days and ages. I know it because I know you. I watched over you and many more people like you for a long time.

You are a pioneer, young lady. No, the better word would be pathfinder. What man would fear you want to pursue. Where danger thrive, you want to step. What no one could achieve, you must.

You thirst for purpose, young lady. For something far beyond one small human could ever hope to reach.

Your world can’t give you it, young lady. But my world surely can. My world is full of wonders to discover and full of threats to defeat. Its maps have enough white spots for you to paint.

So now, young lady. Look inside of you. Look closely and then decide. “

And so the girl closed her eyes to look inside herself. She never doubted this man before her. Even though common sense said she should have. Common sense could never heal her tiredness. Cure her longings.

The girl trusted her common sense, but even more so she trusted her instincts. Really just how a pathfinder should. And her instincts right now cried.

“Will there be… an adventure?” – The girl asked the only question she wanted to know the answer of before any.

And the man with features impossible to recognize answered her, straight and simple.

“Sure thing.”