The Unexpected Adventure
(writing Prompt)

Staring at the blue holographic coordinates hovering over an arm. Where does this lead?
By Steven Le

[WP] Every person is born with a set of coordinates on their body. These coordinates show where they should be on their 21st birthday. Most people meet their soulmate there or find their dream job. Yours is on another planet.

In the world of Ventari, everyone gets their set of coordinates (called an IPC) on their fifth birthday. I have been excited to receive my IPC ever since I learned about it at the age of three from my mother. I have heard of a few stories of people going unconscious after they receive their IPC, but none of my friends and family has experienced it, so I thought it was just a myth. I always wondered where I had to go and what I will get as my destiny.

As I watched the clock strike 12 on my fifth birthday, a magical screen appeared before me. As I saw this hologram come rushing at me and phasing through me, I got a shock of energy. A bunch of blue numbers appeared on my eyes, and they looked like zeroes and ones. I prayed that my coordinates would be one with nice scenery such as that of the Eiffel Tower. As these blue figures disappeared, I looked at my arm, trying to concentrate as my head bobbled back and forth. I was light-headed, but there it was: the IPC. I looked up the coordinates on my pop-up hologram map, but it kept bringing me to an error screen. I was puzzled. My brain was aching so badly that it felt like my brain cells were getting ripped apart. Suddenly, all I saw was black.

When I woke up, I was in the hospital. The nurse next to me had a face of terror and exasperation. “Y... you… should n… n… not have wo… woken up,” she stuttered. Apparently, it has been about 15 years since I had been conscious. As I stared at the blue holographic print hovering over my arm, I thought to myself, “Wow… I am now 20 years old. I am less than a year away from needing to visit… visit… wait… What was the location I was supposed to visit?” I asked the nurse where this location was, and she said that she had never seen it before. She asked around, but no one knew. The nurse contacted the government branch who implemented the IPC, and they came down to the hospital. As their eyes glared over my arms, their mouths began to curl up into a smile right before they announced that I was a special case. They said that all the cases where people have become unconscious were because they had an IPC from another planet. However, I was the tenth and last person to receive an IPC from another planet; I was conscious prior to my 21st birthday—something none of the other 9 have experienced. The government officials said that they had special training for me to embark on this mission to the foreign planet named Neifelhem.

Seven months have now passed since I was abducted by the government to pursue intense training. I went from my frail hospital self to a buff, lean man. I was now knowledgeable and had plenty of space training. Now, I was about to go on a three-month trip to Neifelhem. My five-year-old self erupted from my body as I jumpingly went into the spaceship. The countdown started, then I blasted off.

The trip there was not that bad, but I had to keep my body training throughout the trip to stay in shape. The day I landed was the day before my birthday: November 8th. As I rushed out of the spaceship, curiosity filled my body. Although many people have found their soulmates on this day, I knew I was not going to get myself an alien girlfriend.

What Neifelhem looks like.

I landed in a garden of flowers. I did not recognize them, but it was the most beautiful place I have ever seen. As I look past the ever-going horizon, I realize that I can see everything. There was not a horizon I realized. This planet was flat. So, I wandered to the nearest civilization I could see, and I met the people here. They looked like ordinary people. They spoke the same language as me, and we bonded quite well. The sky was beautiful and decorated with bright stars and colorful planets. I asked what the time was, and they pointed me to the clocktower in town. I saw the clock strike 12, and it was my 21st birthday. This was a beautiful place and I could not have spent my 21st birthday any other way. I looked around and thanked everyone for being so welcoming. We all had food, and I gotta try some Neifelhem food, which was the best food I have ever had. I did not recognize any of it, but I recognized that it was delicious. I spent my whole day here, and I loved it so much that eventually, I got accustomed to my new life. As I am finishing writing this story, I am currently 65 years old, and I am about to fly back to my home planet, Ventari, to explain my discovery of this planet. I loved every single aspect of this adventure, and if anyone is reading this, I hope you all can visit Neifelhem one day as well.