Snow Leopard

Alina Kazan had never known warmth the way others did.

Raised in the unforgiving peaks of the Tien Shan mountains,

her life had been one of solitude and survival. The mountain

winds bit sharply through her worn clothes, and the jagged

rocks beneath her feet seemed to mock her every step. Yet, for

all the hardships, the wilderness had become her sanctuary-

her only home after escaping the horrors of a life she had once

been forced into, a life she'd rather forget.

Each day, as the sun dipped low behind the towering ridges,

casting long shadows that stretched across the snow-covered

earth, Alina would sit by a humble fire and whisper prayers

into the chill of the evening. The words were simple, born

from the depths of a soul that had known too much pain: "Give

me strength. Show me my purpose."