When Azalea opened her eyes, a different world appeared before her. It was distant, piercingly noisy, and nothing like the snow-covered wastelands of Aden. Azalea was sitting in something her mind instantly identified as a “bus.” People were seated all around her, and almost every one of them, as if in a trance, was staring at a glowing rectangle.

“A phone?” she asked herself quietly, surprised at how easily the word had slipped from her lips.

She glanced at the screen of the device in her hands. The image changed, and Azalea froze. From the pages of the digital comic, she was staring back at herself—a pale, frightened girl in a cheap dress, her hands smudged with soot. She flipped through page after page, and with every flick of her finger, an icy dread grew in her chest. Her life, her suffering, her humiliation in Albert’s house - all of it was just a couple of frames, a brief episode that readers flipped past without a second glance.

“I… I’m not important to the plot at all?” she protested. “Am I just destined to vanish beyond the limits of this chapter? Without even a simple happy ending?”

Her loud exclamation made the passengers turn around and glare at her.

“Sorry…” Azalea mumbled sheepishly, feeling her cheeks flush.

She apologized a few more times and stared back at the screen. The realization that she was merely a “minor character,” whose role was to highlight someone else’s greatness or tragedy, hit her harder than Albert’s words.

“Station X,” a woman’s voice announced over the speakers.

Azalea jumped up. She didn’t know the place, but her body remembered the route. She hurriedly got off the bus and five minutes later was already walking into the university lecture hall. Sitting down in her usual spot next to the other girls, she began to listen to the lecturer. But the man’s words from behind the podium were suddenly drowned out by a strange, glowing haze.

“Do you like it? Do you want to stay here?” a voice asked gently from somewhere behind her.

Azalea turned around. Standing right behind her was a girl with long hair that shimmered with a blue hue. She was surrounded by a soft, golden halo of light. She was smiling broadly, and there was more warmth in that smile than Azalea had ever seen in her entire life.

“Who are you?”

“Exactly!” The girl slapped her forehead comically. “I’m Lumisphena.”

She held out her hand.

“Lumi… sphena? A goddess?!” Azalea exclaimed, jumping to her feet.

The entire crowd turned to look at her. Azalea felt her face flush with embarrassment, but Lumisphena merely laughed softly and melodiously.

“Yes, a goddess,” said the lecturer, adjusting his glasses without even glancing at the radiant guest. “This is the image of a goddess as people of that period imagined her. If you have received an answer to your question, please take your seat.”

Azalea sat down, feeling completely disoriented. Lumisphena gently touched her shoulder.

“Let’s talk somewhere else.”

In the blink of an eye, the auditorium vanished. They found themselves on the street, in the shade of spreading trees. It was warm here. Not deceptively warm, but as if she had stepped out into the blazing summer sun.

The goddess handed Azalea a bottle of cold drink and patted the bench next to her.

“Do you want to stay in this world?” Lumisphena asked calmly, opening her own bottle. “You’ve always wanted to learn, to live with dignity, to be free. I decided you’d like it better here than in that world.”

Azalea looked at the fogged-up glass in her hand.

“This world… is it real?”

“Yes, absolutely. My brother created it,” Lumisphena squinted into the sun. “It’s very different from ours, but I really like it here.”

“And all the memories… all this knowledge in my head… are they real?”

Lumisphena nodded. Azalea watched the students passing by for a long time. Here, women were laughing, arguing, and walking toward their goals. It was a temptation impossible to resist. But then she remembered the freezing forest and Albert’s face.

“That comic… Did I really just die?”

The goddess grew a little more serious, but the smile didn’t fade from her lips.

“Almost. Right now, you’re between life and death. I’ve decided to give you a choice. I’ll accept whatever decision you make. If you want to stay here, you can enjoy complete freedom. Of course, I won’t give you any money, but you have an apartment here. You’re studying at a prestigious university and receiving a scholarship. It’s not much, but it’s enough for you.”

“I want to go back,” Azalea said, interrupting Lumisphena. Her voice sounded unexpectedly firm.

Lumisphena was genuinely surprised.

“Why?”

“There are many strong women in this world. It’s amazing. Here, they can defend themselves, get an education, and have opportunities that people in my world can’t even dream of.” Azalea looked up, her eyes full of determination. “I want to change that. I want to bring that there.”

Lumisphena smiled broadly. She stood up and clapped her hands loudly, causing the space around them to vibrate.

“That will be truly interesting,” the Goddess took Azalea’s hands in hers, and the light became unbearably bright. “I’ll give you a gift, little Azalea. Consider it as my investment in your future, which you will write yourself. And forget about the comic. I added it just on a whim.”

The world melted away like smoke before Azalea could utter a single word of thanks. She only remembered the warmth and Lumisphena’s broad smile.

Azalea woke up beneath a layer of snow. Her joints ached. Her whole body was sore. She barely managed to get to her feet. It was strange, but as soon as she stood up, she felt an extraordinary lightness, as if the frosty air no longer weighed down her lungs and the cold was no longer her enemy.

Azalea wandered forward, trying to figure out whether what she had just seen was real or if her dying mind had distorted her perception. Her footsteps on the pristine snow were quiet until a sharp sound shattered the silence.

“Out of the way!” A rough male voice broke the silence.

Azalea heard the frantic neighing of a horse that reared up right in front of her. The enormous animal nearly struck her with its hooves. With a startled cry, she lost her balance and plopped back down onto the ground.

“Calm down, Gaston!” the rider shouted, pulling on the reins to lead the horse aside. “Good boy, Gaston. Good boy!”

The man jumped down from the saddle and walked briskly over to Azalea. His figure in travel clothes looked massive against the backdrop of the snow-covered forest.

“Are you alright? My horse got spooked by you,” he said, reaching out his hand to help her up.

Azalea stood up and began brushing the snow off her worn clothes. Her fingers were still trembling, but not from the cold. Rather, from the realization of how close she had come to danger.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare him,” she said hurriedly. “I didn’t hear his footsteps.”

The man looked her over carefully from head to toe. His gaze lingered on her pale face and slender shoulders, after which he smiled gently.

“I was quite surprised myself. Gaston isn’t usually like that, but this time he lost his temper and nearly hurt you,” he said, swiftly shedding his outer garment and draping it over Azalea’s shoulders. The heavy fabric immediately enveloped her in warmth.

“It seems you’ve lost your way,” he added.

Azalea merely smiled awkwardly in response. The snowfall had ended. The sun was high overhead. And ahead lay the road. Although she didn’t remember there being a road here yesterday. But that didn’t matter. Not at all. Azalea was alive. And for the first time in her life, she felt inspired. 

“No,” a smile played across the girl’s face. A sincere one. A broad one. “I’ve finally found my way.”