Emily Osborn, YAV of Chinook, Montana, was proud to say that she was perfectly normal, thank you very much. She was the last person you'd expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious, because she just didn't hold with such nonsense. Emily was a volunteer with an organization called the Young Adult Volunteer program, which gave young adults the opportunity to engage in world issues, commit to self-reflection, listen to those who are being marginalized and learn in a new way. This was an exciting invitation to “a year of service for a lifetime of change.” She was a fresh college graduate with a penchant for helping others.
Emily had everything they wanted, but she also had a secret, and her greatest fear was that somebody would discover it. She didn't think she could bear it if anyone found out about her boredom. She was bored, absolutely and unequivocally bored.
Emily had been working every day for months, but now she hadn't been to work for what felt like several years; in fact, she imagined she had work to do, because her job and her interactions with the community had been as enjoyable as it was possible to be. Emily shuddered to think what the voice in her head would say if it realized she had hardly any work to do. She now worked one day a week and posted Bible lessons, too, but she had nothing else to do. The schools were closed and the nursing home was protecting its residents from the virus outside; they didn't want anyone getting sick from something like that.
A breeze ruffled the trees of Chinook, which lay silent and calm under the big sky, the very last place you would expect astonishing things to happen. Emily spent her time binging Netflix, drawing and painting, and reading books. One hand closed on the Nintendo Switch beside her and she thought about what to do that day, not knowing what day it was, not knowing when this would end, not knowing if she would wake up one day by the news that the world was safe again, nor if her work schedule would ever return to any semblance of normalcy. She wouldn't know that at any moment, people would figure something out, hold up their glasses and say in hushed voices: "To Emily Osborn -- the girl who served!"
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