Mariana sat quietly at her desk in the shared apartment, sunlight filtering through the half-open curtains. Her textbooks were open, but her mind was far away. The system had given her a new task — one that was more complex than simply identifying plants or collecting minerals. This time, she needed to analyze economic patterns in Silvercity's Old Quarter and propose a solution for revitalizing the small local businesses there.
It was the kind of challenge that excited her. After all, Mary — her former self — had once worked silently behind the scenes to rebuild and uplift communities. Now, Mariana had a new opportunity to do the same, but in a world that didn't yet know her.
She opened a digital map and began marking shops, pathways, and residential areas. Her fingers moved with precision, her analytical mind connecting numbers with human stories.
Later that day, at university, her professors called her a genius. She'd passed the test to skip straight to the final year, stunning her classmates. Some, like Bia and Adam, congratulated her warmly. Others, like Peter, couldn't hide their jealousy.
"You always get everything so easily," Peter muttered one day in class.
But Mariana simply smiled, unaffected. She knew the truth — nothing had ever come easy.
She ended the day walking through the university gardens, where George's voice echoed in her memory. Though they were apart for most days, she carried him with her. Always.