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Richard, or Richy for short doesn’t really talk about his younger years. He’ll say he doesn’t remember or that it was typical and boring. He and his parents lived in a typical trailer park home in Goodhope, Kentucky. He went to a typical school and had typical friends. He hardly spent any time with his parents, since they often worked overtime to be able to afford Richard’s schooling. This was also typical. He’d often had to find a way to entertain himself and found that in reading books. J.R.R. Tolkien’s “the Hobbit” was his favorite by far. Reading was a way for Richard to escape the “typical” life he had. He won't admit it, but he was ashamed of the life they lived. With his head in the clouds, Richard often dreamt of his future. He wanted to become an astronaut like his heroes, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. He would settle for jet pilot though. Or congressman if the above didn’t work out.

For this reason Richard worked hard at all the things he did, becoming team-leader at his field-hockey club, kept up a social life while also studying hard to stay an A-grade student in school. He knew he had to work hard, only 1 in 10 000 would make the cut to go to space. He had to be that one. With a higher than average score on his SAT tests, on top of a promising athletic career; Richard had a chance to attend the relatively nearby Louisville University. He was accepted on a performance scholarship and over the next few years, he worked even harder than before. 

Years later in his junior year of college, it all went to hell. Like he did every day, Richard was  practicing on the running track when he misstepped and severely injured himself. He had broken his ankle and ruptured the tendons on his right foot. The doctors said he wouldn't be able to run normally ever again, and his dreams of becoming an astronaut or pilot went straight down the drain. That mentally broke Richard, as only a small misstep had ruined years of preparation to achieve his dreams. Without a cause Richard would be left to his own thoughts and he quickly spiralled into a depression. 

5 months into rehabilitation, something changed. A new doctor was assigned to his ward and Richard took a liking to the much younger doctor Judith Palmer. An slumbering part of him awoke, the go-getter in him came out again. Dr. Palmer noticed Richard's eagerness to learn and helped him steer that drive towards his education. She helped Richard find a new direction to put his energy in: "Medicine". He learned a lot about himself those few weeks. 

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By the time he graduated college with honors, the running track incident was already a distant memory. Though the titanium pins holding together his anckle reminded him every day of what happened, it was no longer the center of his life. He had put all his effort towards getting onto medical school, dedicated to helping people recover like Dr. Palmer helped him over a year ago. The pain in his ankle pushed him towards a specific subject in med-school in which he eventually specialized: Anesthesiology. He had his eyes on his next dream now, a job as head of the Anesthesiology department at Louisville General Hospital. He got his first job at a prestigious private clinic where he got some much needed experience. His plan was to use this job as as jumping board.

But Richard was struggling. He had put all his energy and effort into his job, and mostly kept to himself and his studies. When some alarmed colleagues started noticing changes in him, he was reverred to a psychiatrist and diagnosed with depression and severe anxiety issues. Given the nature of his work, his medical license was temporarily suspended until he recovered and found fit to work. He went into therapy, where he was invited to a group trip to Norway. Richard really unwinded on that trip, camping in cabins in the northern tip of Norway. Then, three days before he leaving, he layed eyes on Zoey and everything changed. 

Those three days were the best days of Richard's life. The hopeless romantic was going to win her heart. He hastily organized a corny romantic date, where he invited her on a random roadtrip with him. They rented a car and just went where the road took them and ended up at a motel just outside Nyheim. Finally, his dream had come true now. He was so madly in love with Zoey that his heart sincerely ached when he left her at the airport customs. He immediately started planning his next trip, after new years of 2021. But, 5 months after his trip, he received an unexpected phone call by Zoey. Plans changes rapidly at this point as Zoey dropped a bomb on him by telling me she was pregnat with Richard's child. 

Concerns about a new virus that spread rapidly only accelerated the plans. He ignored the warnings and flew to Norway. He was among the last few flights to land in Norway on the day the country went into full lockdown. He left the airport hours before the traffic jams and chaos, and hitched a ride to Nyheim. Here he started his search for Zoey. 

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