Tarik walked along a narrow path winding through vast, towering stone cliffs. His movements were careful, as if with every step, he was testing the ground beneath him, even though he knew the trail had been traveled countless times before. His heart beat faster, and his thoughts tangled in his mind like an incomprehensible knot. He constantly felt as if someone was watching him, yet there was no tangible proof. And while he could never prove it, that sensation never left him.
Tarik had always suspected that his life was connected to something higher. Perhaps it was a force that guided his way, or simply a series of coincidences that allowed him to survive so many battles that should have claimed his life. He wanted to believe it wasn’t just chance, that something or someone was protecting him, but deep fear pushed him to the brink of doubt.
Sometimes, in moments of silence, when he was alone with nothing but the cold stone cliffs and the stars above that seemed so distant, he would feel this strange sensation—something, or someone, was invisibly guiding him through dangers, protecting him from death. It was both comforting and terrifying. He couldn’t fully accept it without knowing who or what it was.
“Am I just running from fate?” he would wonder, sitting beneath the starry sky. His mind always tried to make sense of every phenomenon, to test each theory for its strength, but this invisible force remained beyond his comprehension. And that was what scared him the most.
Always doubting, he often asked himself questions that had no answers. His words became harsher, his eyes sharper, and his heart harder against any weakness. For if he couldn’t verify this force, he couldn’t allow himself to believe in it. What if it was just his imagination? What if he had created this guardian, this unseen presence, out of thin air?
And yet, every time he found himself in the most perilous situations, it seemed to him that something invisible was protecting him from inevitable death. Could it just be luck? Or was it something more?
For now, Tarik had no answer, and every step brought him closer to the moment when he would have to face the truth he had long suspected. But the fear of that moment never left him. Could he endure when he finally learned the truth he had suspected for so long?
Looking at the valley stretching before him, Tarik realized that he was closer to his goal than ever before. And though he didn’t know what awaited him ahead, he felt that this would, in the end, be his most important meeting.
His doubt still lingered, but the further he moved, the more he understood: he had to embrace the fear and keep moving forward, for only then could he find the answer.