The flight was a blur—hours spent in a cramped seat, staring out the window, my mind bouncing between excitement and uncertainty. The hum of the engines was steady, lulling, but it didn't quiet the anxiety creeping up on me. I hadn’t been on many planes, but I had always been told this journey was different. This time, I was leaving home.

The moment the plane landed, the rush of reality hit me hard. Sharman. The bright lights and clean streets felt alien. Everything here felt… too new, too polished. I’d never seen anything like it in Wuye. Everything about this city screamed progress, advancement, and something else—something I wasn’t sure I was ready to face.

I walked off the plane and into the terminal, the air feeling cooler, the buildings taller, the people different. Sharman’s airport was a chaotic orchestra of voices I couldn’t understand, faces that didn’t look like mine. There was a bustle here that felt almost mechanical. People moved like they were all on some invisible clock, rushing past each other with no time for pleasantries.

I tried not to let the shock overwhelm me. I was here for a reason—to make a future. The scholarship I had been awarded, the dream of higher education, all that stuff I'd been told I could achieve, was finally right in front of me.

But even with all the possibilities stretching ahead, I couldn’t shake the feeling of being out of place. 

I was different here. A lot different. 

The taxi driver seemed to notice that the moment I stepped up to his cab. He didn’t say anything at first, just gave me a long look as I approached, like he was trying to figure out who I was. I’d learned to live with that kind of look. Back in Wuye, it wasn’t unusual to be the only black person in a group, but here in Sharman? I was the minority. There weren’t many black people in this part of Europa, and that much was obvious.

“Where to?” The driver’s voice was gruff, and his accent was thick, but I understood him just fine.

“University of Sharman,” I answered, trying to sound confident even though I was anything but.

He blinked, clearly surprised by the answer. “You’re… from Afrika, right?” He glanced at me through the rearview mirror. The look on his face wasn’t hostile, just curious.

“Yeah,” I said, simple and to the point.

He gave a low chuckle. “Don’t see many of you around here. Not many black folks make it out this way.”

I felt the weight of his words more than I wanted to. I nodded, not sure how to respond. I’d spent my life in Zaria, a place where people lived side by side, traded what they could, and generally kept to themselves. Zaria wasn’t like Sharman. We weren’t driven by a need for constant advancement. Things were slower, yes, but that was fine by me. 

Here, though, everything seemed so fast, so loud, so… foreign. 

The taxi driver started the engine, and the car jerked forward. The city streets unfolded in front of me—wide, clean, and filled with people moving quickly. Everyone here had somewhere to go, and they moved like they couldn’t afford to waste a second. The streets of Wuye had been busy too, but in a different way. Our hustle was different. People in Wuye might walk slowly, but they were always talking, greeting, sharing. Here? It felt like everyone was in a race. And I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to be racing with them, or if I was just meant to watch from the sidelines.

We turned down a narrow road, and I saw the university’s towering buildings looming ahead. I knew I’d be a part of it soon enough, but right now, all I could think about was how small I felt.

“So, you come here for school?” The driver asked, breaking the silence again.

I nodded. “Yeah. I’m here on a scholarship.”

“Aha,” he said, giving me another look. “That’s good. Not many black people come to Sharman for school. It’s different here, you know?”

I didn’t know how to respond to that. Back home in Wuye, I wasn’t even aware of how few black people might be here in Sharman. I hadn’t thought about it. The reality of it was harder to ignore now that I was here, standing in the middle of a city that wasn’t mine. I couldn’t help but feel like I was the exception, not the rule.

The driver seemed to sense my discomfort and shifted in his seat. “Don’t worry, kid. It’s a big city. People forget about you quick. Just focus on what you’re here for.”

I didn’t answer. I didn’t need to. The silence between us was more comfortable than the awkwardness I felt inside.

The university came into view as we drove closer—a massive structure that seemed to touch the sky, filled with students, buildings, and a level of ambition I couldn’t quite understand yet. I’d come this far, and there was no turning back.

The taxi slowed to a stop in front of the university’s main entrance. The driver turned to me. “Good luck, kid.”

“Thanks,” I muttered, grabbing my bags. 

I stepped out of the taxi and onto the pavement, feeling the weight of everything ahead of me. This was where it all started. The next chapter. But somehow, it didn’t feel like I was stepping into a new beginning. It felt more like stepping into a world where I didn’t belong.

The taxi driver pulled away, and I stood there for a moment, taking in the city around me. 

Sharman was everything Wuye wasn’t. It was clean, fast, and full of people who seemed to have places to be. I wasn’t sure if I was ready for this. But I knew one thing for sure—I was here now. And I had to make it work.