Hey Steemians!

Welcome to Week 5 of Season 24 of the Steemit Challenge, running from May 19 to May 25, 2025!
This week’s prompt dives into the world of mystery and the unexplained—perfect for letting our imagination soar.

Monday arrived at Islamabad International Airport and it was much like any other day. Sitting at the counter with a nearly empty cup of cold coffee, Ms. Zara, a composed immigration officer, was watching the scene happen in front of her. The line containing tourists, businesspeople and returning citizens slowly moved ahead.

Most people gave me a short answer and a nod as I walked by. All went smoothly until one man calmly gave the guard his passport without saying a thing.

_{Ai creation}

She opened the navy-blue document in front of her. I could tell it was real because it had no frayed edges and no smudges. She froze when she saw the name of the country at the head of the page. “Turevia.”

She frowned. The neatly dressed man stood calmly, with his hands folded in front of him. Could you tell me, sir, where we are? No one has ever told me about Turevia.

He spoke English effortlessly. To the east of Turevia is Valeria and to the north is Eslovania. Zara lifted an eyebrow at the mention of those names. Even so, in her husband’s passport, she could see stamps from Brazil, Japan and Pakistan that were recorded more than two years ago. They appeared to be real stamps. The holograms were made according to standards used around the globe. The visa for Pakistan was just approved on the Internet and the codes are correct.

Even after reading the note, Zara asked her senior officer to come over. Some officials quickly collected, looking over the document both with special lights and with verification tools. It looked entirely real. When they tried to find Turevia on a global map or database, it couldn’t be found.

_{Ai creation}

The man identified as Elian Torval remained calm throughout. He said that he was in Lahore for a cultural peace conference. The winter before spring brought us an invitation for our government. I became a selected representative.” Despite sounding calm, what he said only made things less clear. No such invitation had been sent out officially by Pakistan, as far as the authorities knew.

At that moment, the immigration team wasn’t sure how to proceed. Everything I expected seemed to fit, but none of it explained anything. He gave them the letter wrapped with the official stamp from the foreign ministry—once more, from “Turevia.” I understood little of the language on the document, yet it resembled a mixture of Slavic and Latin.

The situation was finally referred to national security officials. He was led to a different room, though he didn’t appear agitated or frightened. Rather, he looked at everything with interest, as though he had never seen it before. He cheerfully greeted the officers and indicated he’d be happy to address anything they wanted to know.

When people asked why his country wasn’t known, he said something unsettling: “It might be that in your version, it disappeared without trace.”

I don’t understand what you are saying. Zara asked.

He considered her carefully. Between different ages, there are spaces that exist. Slips. Glitches. Crossings. I came here... by accident. There may be a cause behind it.”

_{Ai creation}

Days passed before the authorities could identify him. His name did not appear in any international lists. There was no one else with the same fingerprints as him. The technology didn’t offer any information from a facial scan. Despite his other less-believable claims, his understanding of geography, languages and current affairs was very real. He was really there. He was genuine. He didn’t belong here.

In the following, nothing about the decision was officially revealed. According to the rumors, he was put under special police protection. Some people claimed he vanished one morning as if he’d gone through an invisible door in space.

Just before he died, Zara recalled his father saying, “A map might see you through countries, but it won’t show you the heart of each place.” Occasionally, we must be certain it exists before we can notice it.

Do you think Elian came from a parallel world? Was he a time traveler, or just part of an elaborate hoax?
Let the mystery live on!

I would like to invite @solperez, @fjjrg and @mdkamran99 to take part in the challenge.

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Thanks for reading, Steemians!

Regards
artist1111