Her professor shook her head.
“Knowledge can be relearned.”
Layan looked down.
“I feel like everyone has moved ahead.”
“Life isn’t a race, Layan.”
For the first time, she considered that her education might not be over.
She did not have to return immediately.
She did not have to complete the same program on the same schedule.
She could begin with one course.
Then another.
Eventually, she arranged a gradual return to her studies.
Her experience had changed the way she understood nature.
Before the accident, mountains had represented adventure and discovery.
Now she knew they could also be places of danger, isolation, and extraordinary human vulnerability.
She became especially interested in outdoor safety, environmental mapping, and the psychological challenges associated with survival in remote environments.
She wanted future students to understand that curiosity should always be accompanied by preparation.
But she also wanted them to know that surviving a terrible experience did not mean abandoning the things they loved.
