“Loud?” Yuri says, “Couldn’t be as loud as the capital. Or as big.” Yuri points to a bit of patchwork on her apron, “This is the emblem of the academy. It’s this prestigious institution composed of the finest minds in this area. Just a few years ago, I was lucky enough to get in. Oh, it was the happiest day of my life! I’ve always loved research. It tells us about the world around us. When I graduated from my hometown’s local school, it was my mission to get into that academy. I worked so hard, I wrote so many papers, and then I did it. I got in. Oh, I nearly cried. Actually, I did! I did cry, most definitely. The academy recognized the value of my work…” Yuri looks over to Val. She seems to be playing with a stick she found, not paying too much attention, “But not everyone values my work. Many of my peers made fun of me for my passions, both before and after entering the academy. It’s not fossils, they say, or it’s not precious metals, so why bother? They demean me, they ask what’s the point in meaningless strata of rock? What’s the point in looking so close at water rushing by stone? They just don’t get it. To them, a thing just is what it is. That’s not how it is for me. Everything starts somewhere, then ends up somewhere else. There’s a journey. I try to find that journey; I try to understand it. That’s what I research. Rock history; rock storytelling.” Yuri looks at Val again. Val has been listening, somewhat, but it doesn’t look like it. “I bet you don’t care either. Am I right?”

Val doesn’t respond immediately. While she doesn’t fully understand the importance of rocks and their history, she thinks it must be important if someone feels so strongly about it. “Yes,” Val says, “But I don’t mind, either.”

“Huh?” Yuri seems unsatisfied with that answer. “So do you care about my work or not?”

“I don’t care. But… I think you should do it.”

Yuri looks at Val for a second, then laughs, “Hah, what’s that supposed to mean?” She keeps laughing. Val thinks she sees a tear well up in Yuri’s eye, but Yuri wipes it away before it gets a chance to fall.

Val believes she understands what Yuri is like. She thinks they are somewhat similar. Somewhat. Yuri wants to be accepted by her peers. That’s why she came out to this waterfall. If she can make a great discovery in her field, the people at the academy would value her. Val thinks back to when she first left on her journey. It was something similar--but only similar--that made her leave. As she begins to think about that time, she quickly stops. She doesn’t want to think about that right now. But she can’t help but think about something from a while before that time.