Thirty Days North

Somewhere beyond the horizon, there was a place I had never seen before. Yet somehow, I knew I belonged there.

I think I was on some kind of mission with a colleague of mine. I don’t remember much about the mission itself. All I remember is that my companion wasn’t particularly skilled, and that we were travelling in some sort of vehicle equipped with various devices and equipment.

At some point, we found ourselves in the middle of an enormous green field.

There was absolutely nothing around us. No trees, no buildings, no roads. Just an endless stretch of green land and the horizon.

My companion stayed inside the vehicle, occupied with something of his own. I decided to get out and explore, to see if I could find anything nearby.

I chose a direction and started walking north.

A day passed. Then another.

And then, somehow, an entire month.

I was still walking.

The strangest part was that I had no idea how I had survived for so long. I didn’t feel hungry or thirsty. I had no desire to eat or drink, as if those needs simply didn’t exist anymore. I just kept moving.

I felt tired, but never tired enough to stop.

Everything around me remained more or less the same. An enormous green field stretching endlessly towards the horizon.

Until something appeared in the distance.

A massive elevation.

It looked like the slope of an enormous hill, but its proportions were almost impossible to comprehend. Twenty kilometres, perhaps. Thirty. Maybe even fifty.

I started climbing.

With every step, my legs hurt more. The ascent seemed endless. I was almost at the top, with only a little distance left before reaching what appeared to be a flat surface.

I gathered whatever strength I had left and took one final step.

And there it was.

A lake.

It was beautiful.

The water was perfectly clear, so transparent that it almost seemed invisible. There was practically nothing around it. Just an immense open space and the water.

But something was wrong.

The lake sat at the very top of the slope, and its water flowed over the edge, running down the hillside before eventually disappearing somewhere below.

I couldn’t understand where it went.

There had been no water when I was climbing. I hadn’t seen any streams, any rivers, or even the slightest indication that a lake could exist up there.

Yet now, it was right in front of me.

For some reason, I didn’t think much of it. The place felt strange, but strangely peaceful. It even felt familiar, although I had absolutely no idea where I was.

I decided to walk around for a while.