The 12 Months - A Folk Tale

Once upon a time there lived a mother who had two daughters. One was her own child, the other her stepdaughter. She was very fond of her own daughter, but she could not so much as look at her step-daughter without shuddering. The only reason for this was that Marussa, her stepdaughter, was prettier than her own daughter, Holena.

The gentle-hearted Marusa did not know how beautiful she was, and so she could never understand why her mother was always so cross with her, no matter what she did.

She had to take hay to the cow and milk her. She had to do all the housework, tidying up the cottage, cooking, washing, spinning and sewing, and she did all this work alone, while Holena spent the time adorning herself and lazing about. But Marusa liked the work, for she was a patient girl, and even when her stepmother scolded and berated her, she bore it like a lamb.

It was no good, however, for her half sister and stepmother grew crueller and crueller every day, because anyone could see; Marusa was growing prettier and prettier and Holena uglier and uglier.

New Beginnings

When I finally made it to the city of Wilming, I had only  spoken to two other people. There was the border guard, who asked a few questions (very impolitely), and the taxi driver, who I couldn't get to stop talking, even though I couldn’t understand a word he said. Was he even speaking English? I tried replying to him making noncommittal noises, but ended up desperately staring at my phone, trying to give him a clear hint that I wanted to be alone with my thoughts. I needn't have bothered; he just seemed to like the sound of his own voice, and it didn’t seem to matter whether I responded or not.

The next person I met was the secretary at the admissions office, who brusquely gave me a huge pile of papers, brochures and forms to fill out and return the next day, ‘Don’t lose them’, she admonished, and topped it all with a map with a big red X showing me where my ‘digs’ were.  Before I could ask any questions she was speaking to the next student.  I tried to figure out where I was, and realised with a sinking heart my accommodation was miles away. I took a wrong turn several times, avoiding eye contact with anyone I met, and dragging my rather noisy and wobbly suitcase behind me, it felt as if one of the wheels was about to come off, maybe it was a sign of things to come.

History of the past In the mountains

When I woke up this morning in Quito, I found my dog, Slopy, waiting for me. He wanted me to take him for a walk. I was too hungry, so first I had breakfast. I had a glass of milk and a piece of toast. Then I washed my teeth and put on a track-suit and a heavy coat, because it was really cold outside. Slopy was already impatient. We both went out, and walked to the park near home. He ran and jumped, and pursued some passers-by. He also destroyed some pieces of furniture somebody left on the road. I sat on a bench all

 the time, wishing I could be inside my warm bed. When my hands were frozen, I decided it was time to go back home. Slopy didn’t want to, but I pulled hard and I managed to take him back. When we arrived at the front door, I realized I didn’t have my keys with me, so we stayed out in the cold for more than an hour! Slopy was happy, but I was late for work!