Many years have passed since then - I have understood a lot, rethought things, changed my attitude toward certain things. Yes, I'll be frank - life no longer bursts with energy as before, and the little light in my eyes has gone out. If these symptoms are familiar to you, then you are probably also well past 40. You know, friends, and that's absolutely normal. Time mercilessly takes from us energy, beauty, cloudlike dreams, all sorts of playful infatuations. But we were not left with nothing; time knows how to give in return for what it takes away. It gives a different kind of 'valuable' - the opportunity to observe, to raise, to pass on experience and to love boundlessly. It is love that passes through all facets, dimensions, through all living and non-living things, and never succumbs to evolution. But that's another story entirely.

I gave birth to her when I was 21 years old. A classic story - in the little one's eyes I saw the light of life's meaning and loved her more than anything in the world. Maternal love brought a lot of pain and at the same time made me the happiest. I was ready and am still ready to give my daughter everything she wishes. Luckily the times are such that everything is available. I, of course, went through the era of the information revolution, the development of the internet phenomenon, but what is happening now surprises me no less.

Now nothing remains of that glorious little girl with tiny hands - before me stands a noble 25-year-old woman. When she turned 18, she went to study in another city, just as I once did. We saw each other only in Maxx. A device that allowed us to communicate holographically, almost tactilely over distance. In my time we were happy with Skype, its predecessor.

At that young age my daughter reminded me of myself in many ways - restless and curious. But still, there was one significant difference - her heart was filled with compassion for others, she felt her connection to the world more subtly, she was one with it. And there are whole generations of young people like her. A generation of altruists. It's shameful. In my youth I succumbed to the general influence of a system of ego-values, individualism, 'I live for myself' and so on.

And then, one day, there became too little room for the feelings in her heart. She knew the planet was experiencing certain ecological difficulties and could not sit still. We talked a lot, I listened to her attentively, she would not let up and raised the topic again and again. At that moment I clearly understood that this was my chance to do something truly useful, something I had never dared to do, even if by my daughter's hands.

And I remembered them. Once they gave me the opportunity to fly to the USA, once they helped many to do so. And who knew that it was only the first step on the way to the greatest feats. When my daughter was 18 years old, the Work and Travel exchange program made a legendary decision in its history - it entered into permanent cooperation with nature protection organizations. W&T directed its popularity among students into the right channel, thereby spreading a simple idea - it's time to save the Earth from pollution.

My daughter insisted, I could not decide for a long time. She spoke beautifully and convincingly, but I was afraid to send her so far and for so long. But I had to understand, if not her - then who? The decision was made in her favor, not without my tears, of course.

My girl became one of the first volunteers of the program who went to heal the waters of the Pacific Ocean. In the first two years they managed to rid the ocean of several tons of plastic. To date, the program has been successfully carrying out its goals for about 7 years. My adult daughter still works for the benefit of the organization and trains newcomers. And I quietly and peacefully move toward the middle of my years, watching the feats of my child.

She was only 18 then in 2039.