Chapter 3 — The Project
653 Words
By lunchtime, Elena had completely forgotten about her mother's strange reaction that morning.
There were too many things happening on campus.
She sat with Mia and Sophia at their usual table outside the student centre, picking at her lunch while Mia scrolled through her phone.
“I found it,” Mia suddenly announced.
Elena looked up.
“Found what?”
“The information about Valeria.”
Sophia leaned closer.
“Already?”
Mia turned the phone toward them.
“Our lecturer sent the project guidelines.”
Elena wiped her hands and took the phone.
She read through the message carefully.
Their group had been selected to work on a cultural research project focusing on the oral traditions and disappearing legends of mountain communities.
At the bottom was the proposed research location.
Valeria.
Elena read the name twice.
Something about it caught her attention.
Not because it was strange.
She simply couldn't explain why the name seemed to stay in her mind.
“So,” Mia said, breaking her concentration, “are we actually going?”
“It looks like it,” Sophia replied.
Elena handed the phone back.
“When would we leave?”
“Nothing has been confirmed yet. We still need approval from the department.”
Mia smiled.
“But imagine it.”
“Imagine what?” Elena asked.
“Mountains. Old villages. Traditional stories. Maybe we'll find some crazy legend nobody has heard before.”
Sophia gave her a look.
“That's exactly how people end up believing every story they hear.”
“And that's exactly why research exists.”
Elena laughed.
“You two are going to argue throughout this entire project.”
“We are not,” Mia said.
Sophia raised an eyebrow.
“You just argued with me about whether we were going to argue.”
Mia opened her mouth, then stopped.
Elena burst out laughing.
“You see?”
The three of them continued talking about the project, discussing what they might need to take with them and how they could divide the research.
Elena was particularly interested in interviewing older members of the communities.
Stories passed down through generations fascinated her.
People remembered things differently.
A story could change slightly every time it was told, yet somehow still keep the heart of what had happened.
She wanted to understand that.
She wanted to hear the stories directly from the people who had carried them for years.
“So you're actually excited,” Sophia said.
Elena looked at her.
“Maybe.”
Mia grinned.
“I knew it.”
“I said maybe.”
“You've had that look on your face since we started talking about Valeria.”
“What look?”
“The curious look.”
Elena rolled her eyes.
“I don't have a curious look.”
“You do.”
Sophia nodded.
“You definitely do.”
Elena shook her head, smiling.
“Fine. Maybe I'm curious.”
Her phone vibrated.
She checked the screen.
It was a message from her mother.
Rebecca: Let me know when you get home.
Elena smiled and typed a quick reply.
Elena: I will. ❤️
She put the phone away.
For a moment, she looked toward the far end of the campus.
She couldn't explain it, but the name Valeria crossed her mind again.
She frowned slightly.
Why did the place feel so familiar?
She had never been there.
At least, she was almost certain she hadn't.
“Elena?”
She looked back at her friends.
“Hmm?”
Mia waved a hand in front of her face.
“You disappeared for a second.”
Elena smiled.
“Sorry. I was just thinking.”
“About Valeria?”
Elena hesitated.
“Maybe.”
Mia laughed.
“Then we're definitely going.”
Elena laughed with her.
She didn't know it yet, but the trip would become one of the most important journeys of her life.
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