The forest is grey and misty, but the water looks tempting. The fountain has small angels around the edge, singing me a lullaby while I lay myself down in the clear blue water, and all my worries are gone. After only a few minutes Prince Charming wanders into my dreams, riding on a shiny pony and with roses to put in my Goldie lock hair. He bends over, his lips touching mine.
The trouble is, he can never be mine.
Cause he is just pure fiction. In the real world there are no misty forests or fountains with clear blue water. And there definitely is no Prince Charming. My hair is a story for itself, because there is none. A scarf covers my head and sends warning signs to people around me: Don’t come too close, she is infested. Around me, street kids are fighting over small crump’s of bread, and my beloved fountain consists of nothing but mud, polluted water and chemicals.
I have heard stories, about how it used to be here. Once upon a time there was life and laughter. Parents were taking their kids on sundaytrips to the aquarium, watching astonished while the caretakers gave the penguins fish and talked cuddly with them. The only penguin I ever saw was in Timmy’s picture book. Timmy is a collector, and he also happens to be my best friend. My only friend actually. No one wants to befriend a sick girl. No one except Timmy.
Timmy was the one to help me escape the hospital. Without his help, I would have ended up on the asylum. Not that this is so much better. Even among the kids I grew up with, I am an outcast. But at least I get to see the moon and the stars, I can use a bicycle to move around in the city when the street kids are sleeping. And Timmy, who is known for his talent to hunt, find and collect, is not only providing me with enough food, water, clothing and medicine, he has also brought me enough papers and pencils to write a whole book. And that’s what I am intending to do. I will die, and I will die soon. The virus is slowly eating me, digesting every part of my body. Therefore it is crucial that I tell you this, it is crucial that you understand how the world came to be like this. How I came to be like this.
This is my story.
