Fairy Tales for Children above Thirty
by
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Happy Valentine’s Day
I had a dream a few days ago.
I was standing in the kitchen with a blonde three-year-old girl hovering over me. Well, actually, she was clinging to my legs, but it sure felt like hovering to me. She held me so tightly, I could hardly move.
As much as I loved her, I found myself irritated.
I took a deep breath, swallowed my distress, and sat myself down.
I looked in her eye and said,
“Here is your heart,” and I touched her chest, where her heart is meant to be.
“Here is my heart,” and I touched my chest, where mine is meant to be.
And then I moved my hand from hers to mine, back and forth, back and forth.
“Here is the connection. You cannot see it, but it is there. Feel it.”
She raised her hand and moved it back and forth and felt something. I saw the moment of recognition in her eyes. Then I embraced her and squeezed her so tightly, she could hardly breathe, and said, “This is how you hold me, and I can’t breathe. I can’t even move. I understand you hold me the way you do, because you can’t see the connection. But now that you have, will you give me some space?”
She nodded.
And then I woke up.
I sat in bed, remembering the moment the little girl had moved her hand back and forth and felt something. In my dream, I had felt it too.
I know I’m like a certain Thomas who will only believe if he sees.
I looked down at my hands.
I had felt the connection, as strong and solid as a thick iron rod.
Still dazed by the dream, in the early hours of the morning, I wasn’t sure what to be more astonished about: the fact that I had felt something, or how a dream could transform what only the heart can feel – when it is unable – into what even a hand could feel.
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About the Book
An adventurous life isn't always about conquering a mountain, crossing a desert or even soaring through the skies with a parachute. At times it's about opening your eyes to find that the life you are seeking has come in search for you.
But . . .
How do you take the plunge and let the crest of the moment carry you when you are used to keeping a tight rein on time?
How do you tame the lioness within when motherhood exposes a fierce protectiveness and the sound that escapes your lips every time you open your mouth is a roar?
How do you fall into step with the beat and the rhythm of the dance when tango lessons in Buenos Aires become more about control and confronting fears?
A little imagination and a pen transform everyday experiences into fairy tales until they are exuding excitement and reeking of sweat – until they become that extraordinary adventure right in the middle of an ordinary life.
About the Author
Betty Sam Mathew was born in Germany in 1977 of Indian parents, and grew up in Switzerland. She is a physician and writer. Her passion for the sciences has her dissecting and analysing life’s experiences and re-assembling them in the form of short stories with a pinch of humour and a tad of imagination. She lives with her husband and two children in Basel, Switzerland.
Visit the author’s website at www.binspace.ch.