An Odyssey in Another World

In the summer of 2023, the sun was about to set, and still there was a long queue at a bookstore. A tired girl is at the end of the queue, waiting for her turn to buy the newly published famous manhwa “Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint”. There are a lot of people waiting for the book, and a lot of them are eager to get a copy of their own. And one of them is Rose Anne Garcia, a big fan of the manhwa. Rose is very determined to get a copy of her own, as it was announced that only a limited copy of the book will be published. That news made the fans of the manhwa rush and mob the bookstores to get a copy. I hope I can get the book! I will wash the dishes every day if I get a copy,’ Rose thought to herself. A few minutes had passed, and she could see the counter of the bookstore, and that made her excited. But her smile faded when she saw that there was only one left, which was given to the girl in front of her. The sign “sold out” was put on the table, and that made those who didn’t get a copy disappointed. Tired, hungry, and disappointed, Rose walks away from the bookstore and goes to her favorite fast-food restaurant, Jollibee. She bought a burger, fries, a coke, and a sundae to lift her mood. After getting her order, she went to a nearby park and sat there. “This is frustrating! I just wasted my time,” she cried as tears flowed slowly from her eyes. “No, there is still hope. I’ll try to find some other bookstore and try my luck there.” She wiped her tears and started eating her fries dipped in the sundae. She opened her phone to check some nearby bookstores. Scrolling through her phone, she didn’t notice that a young girl sat next to her. “Excuse me, can I have some?” The girl asked. Rose was taken aback due to shock. “You surprised me!” hands on her chest and breathing heavily. She looked at the young girl; it was a beggar. Rose relaxed herself and asked the girl her name. “My name is Aria,” the girl replied. The girl looked so dirty with worn-out clothes, and she looked malnourished, like she was not eating properly. “You want some?” Rose asked, gesturing to her food. The girl nodded, and without hesitation, Rose gave her burger and coke to the girl, as that was the only food left. The girl’s face lit up, and she accepted the food happily, saying, “Thank you so much for this” “You’re welcome” Rose smiled. “Where are your parents?” She asked. “I don’t have any parents” Aria replied. Rose's smile faded, and she felt pity for Aria. It is really sad to know that there are kids getting abandoned by their parents, and these kids didn't choose to be brought into this world just to suffer. Rose hoped that people should become more responsible and aware of the results of their actions to avoid things like these from happening. If they are not ready to have a family, then they must use protection or be better off not having i*********e. “Where do you stay? It’s getting dark you need to go home” Rose is worried. “At the orphanage” Aria said while eating. “That’s good that you have someplace to stay” Rose says, relieved. “Thank you ate, I have to go po” Aria said. "Wait,” Rose said, and she turned to her bag. Rose was thinking of giving Aria some money just in case she gets hungry again. She will have some money to buy some food. When she turns back to Aria, the girl is gone. She stood up and tried to look for Aria. "Aria, where are you?” Rose shouted, hoping to find the girl. She tried to look behind the trees and bushes that were near where she was sitting, but she found nothing. Rose went back to the bench, where she sat, hoping that Aria was able to go back to the orphanage safely. Rose decided to also go home, so she started cleaning her trash, and she noticed something at the bench where Aria sat. It was a book. Rose picked it up and scanned it. The book was kind of worn out and had a red cover with golden details, as well as titles written in gold. “An Odyssey in Another World” she read. Since Aria left it, she decided to keep it and return it if they met again. Rose finished cleaning and headed home. At a tree, a figure of a woman smiled at Rose and said, "I hope that you could help them”. When she arrived at home, she was greeted by her sister, who was tending to their sick mother. Their father was not around as he was still at work. She went to her mother and greeted her, and she gave her the food she bought before going home. Rose was already in college and is currently pursuing her medical degree. Her mother was her reason to study medicine—to find a cure for her mother’s illness that even the doctors could not identify. She is determined to heal her mother, as she misses those times when her mother would take good care of her when she was little. Afterwards, she went to her room and changed into comfortable clothes. As she was getting ready for bed, she caught a glimpse of the book that Aria had left. She opened it and started reading it. She finds the book very interesting, so she wanted to finish it. As a person who is very into reading, Rose was reading until dawn, and when she was about to finish the book, she felt so sleepy that she couldn’t fight it. She fell sound asleep.