Somewhere in between

You are at an airport. It's quiet except for the hum of the blinding white lights. The officer is checking your passport, then he looks at you. (text-style:"shudder")[(align:"=><=")[(text-colour:red)[''//"Purpose of your visit?"//'']]] Your reply: [[1. "I live here"->TRANSIT]] [[2. "I'm just visiting"->TRANSIT]] [[3. "I don't know anymore"->TRANSIT]]

The officer stamps your passport, it says: (align:"=><=")[//''IN TRANSIT''//] [[Move on...->Name]]

Your room has two windows. The left one opens to a place you came from, the right one opens to a place where you are now. You stand in the middle, with a suitcase still zipped on the floor. Your action: [[1. Open the left window]] [[2. Open the right window]] [[3. Open both]]

You hear distant traffic and the smell of street food rises. You realize that you're seeking comfort and to be closer to your heritage. [[Move on...->Name]]

The smells and sounds overlap in a strange harmony that doesn’t quite match real time or geography. You acknowledge the duality within you. [[Move on...->Name]]

You hear church bells and cold air rushes in. You realize how much you're seeking adaptation and progress. [[Move on...->Name]]

At a café, someone asks how to pronounce your name. They try their best. They miss a syllable, soften a consonant, reshape it without meaning to. (text-style:"shudder")[(align:"=><=")+(box:"X")[(text-colour:red)[//''"How do you prefer I call you?"''//]]] You respond: [[1. Correct them gently]] [[2. Offer a shorter version]] [[3. Tell them any version is fine]]

(align:"=><=")[Names are small anchors, even when tossed into foreign waters.] [[Move on...->Return ticket]]

(align:"=><=")[Your name folds neatly, like clothes in a carry-on.] [[Move on...->Return ticket]]

(align:"=><=")[Sometimes identity breathes easier when it’s allowed some room to bend.] [[Move on...->Return ticket]]

Your phone buzzes. A message from home asking: (text-style:"shudder")[(align:"=><=")+(box:"X")[(text-colour:red)[//''“Will you visit this year?”''//]]] You hesitate. The word “visit” feels both fitting and not. Your reply: [[1. “Yes, I’ll go there sometime this year.”]] [[2. “I’ll try, but life is busy here.”]] [[3. “I don’t know which place is home anymore.”]]

Home can be a direction instead of a destination. [[Move on...->Streets]]

Distance doesn’t erase roots, it stretches them. [[Move on...->Streets]]

A settled life grows quiet roots too. [[Move on...->Streets]]

You’re walking in your old neighborhood. Everything is familiar, yet slightly rotated. Shops replaced, faces older, language spoken with accents you didn’t grow up with. A family member says: (text-style:"shudder")[(align:"=><=")+(box:"X")[(text-colour:red)[//''“You look different now.”''//]]] Your answer: [[1. “So do you.”]] [[2. “Maybe I’ve been away too long.”]] [[3. Smile without answering.]]

(align:"=><=")[Change belongs to everyone.] [[Move on...->Passports]]

(align:"=><=")[You return, but time doesn’t.] [[Move on...->Passports]]

(align:"=><=")[Some truths settle better in silence.] [[Move on...->Passports]]

Back at the airport desk. The officer stamps your passport again. But now the stamp doesn’t say IN TRANSIT. It says: (align:"=><=")+(box:"X")[//''YOU MAY CONTINUE.''//] Your story moves with you. Your next action: [[1. Step forward.]] [[2. Step sideways.]] [[3. Step in any direction.]]

(align:"=><=")[Forward becomes your new version of home.] End.

(align:"=><=")[Sideways opens unexpected doors.] End.

(align:"=><=")[Movement itself becomes your belonging.] End.

That night, you dream of two passports on a table. One embossed with the place you left. One with the place you live. Both are open. Both are blank. A voice in the dream asks: (text-style:"shudder")[(align:"=><=")+(box:"X")[(text-colour:red)[//''“Which one tells your story?”''//]]] What do you do? [[1. Point to the old passport.]] [[2. Point to the new passport.]] [[3. Point to both.]] [[4. Point to neither.]]

(align:"=><=")[You are shaped by the echoes behind you.] [[Move on...->Ending]]

(align:"=><=")[You are shaped by the paths ahead.] [[Move on...->Ending]]

(align:"=><=")[You are shaped by bridges.] [[Move on...->Ending]]

(align:"=><=")[You are shaped by movement itself.] [[Move on...->Ending]]