Chapter
1 ? Once upon a time
The
new home was big, grey and high like a tower.
Justin
curled a strand of his fair hair around his finger to assess the present length
while looking concerned to the upper windows.?
It would take longer than expected until the strands would reach down
the whole tower.
He
sighed.? Probably until Christmas.
A
small smile moved over his slim face at this thought. He liked Christmas. There
always were such fun things to eat. Pudding with glittering money treasure in
the middle, fried bird without a head or feathers and with mashed chestnuts in
its belly.
Hmm,
he wondered what feathers would taste like and took a couple of strands of hair
into his mouth. Briefly he tested the taste with his tongue, chewed twice and
giggled as he recognized his shampoo. The blue one. Nurse Emma had given it to
him for his hair.
Sometimes
he really was stupid; of course he didn?t have any feathers. Otherwise he could
fly like a bird and wouldn?t have long hair that allowed him to flee out of the
tower.
Hmm,
he sighed again and hugged his book tightly to his chest, while nervously
looking up. The tower really was pretty high.
"Mister
Taylor. You coming?" A woman with a grey cardigan and the letters ANNE on
a small name tag touched Justin?s arm softly. ?We don?t want to let Dr. Marcus
wait, do we? She?s really looking forward to meet you."
Justin
did not like the fingers on his jacket. It was so pretty and light blue.? Now there were ugly finger spots.? He didn?t like the letters on the nametag
either.
Big
P?s were nice. The word Pudding began with that one.
?Mister
Taylor?"
The
boy rocked slightly back and forth, while looking up to the sky and mumbling
unintelligible to himself. ?P. P. Pppp."
She
put a hand on his back and rubbed up and down gently to get his attention.
?Will you come with me?? I?ll show you
your new room.? I?m sure you?ll like
it."? She pointed to the upper
windows. ?See?? It?s the most beautiful
room in the house.? Up on the 5th
floor."
Justin
giggled. He didn?t like the man with the cardigan. He had a thick chest and was
a bit stupid.
Of
course his room was at the top of the tower. Where else would the princess
live?
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The
prince had a white jacket with red stripes and buttons made of gold. His hair
was so beautiful and brown.? He also had
a flat chest and long legs with black boots. The prince held the princess
tightly while dancing on the shiny parquet floor. It almost looked as if they
would fly, although Justin couldn?t recognize feathers anywhere. Perhaps it was
magic?
?Naa."
Justin grinned about his own stupidity and shook his head. Of course only the
witch could do magic. The witch and the good fairy.
Hmm.
His face darkened thoughtfully. There also was a bad fairy who had grey hair, a
thick chest and could turn people into mice.
Justin
shuddered.
He
wouldn?t prefer to be a mouse because then all he could eat was bacon.? They only had bacon on Tuesdays for
breakfast, with eggs and tomatoes. He touched his belly. Then surely the whole
rest of the week he would have terrible...
??
hunger."
"Mister
Taylor?" Dr. Melanie Marcus folded her hands on the desk. ?Please Mister
Taylor, close your book."
Justin
looked up from the coloured picture book pages. He didn?t like the man with the
DR? MARCUS tag. He talked too loudly and
always wanted his book to decide.
?Mister
Taylor. Please, close your book now. You can read again later."
Could he? Justin wasn?t sure whether the man was right or not.? He looked at the coloured pages critically
before he reluctantly closed the book and began bobbing up and down restlessly
in the chair.
It
was dark in the ballroom now. The prince hopefully didn?t step on the princess?
shoes.
?Mister
Taylor,? Dr. Marcus seemed content and opened a yellow file on her desk, ?I
have studied your documents and must say?"
Justin
looked at him in anger. It was really unfair that one was allowed to read
yellow books but not the one with the prince.
?I?m
very satisfied with the course of your therapeutical development. I think we
will keep the dose of your medication for the moment. Dr. Bruckner will meet
you later. He is your new therapist here at St. James.? She looked at her
patient and inquired. ?Do you have any questions?"
Justin
was sure the dance wasn?t over yet, and the prince certainly would become very
furious if he had to stop dancing only because it was too dark.
He
really would prefer to...
??open
the book.?
Dr.
Marcus stared at the young man for a moment with a rigid look, then breathed
deeply.? Finally, she pushed the button
on her little intercom system on the desk. ?Blake. Please take Mister Taylor to
his room."
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The
man with the BLAKE tag had fair hair and smiled friendly. His chest was flat
and his hands small. He even carried Justin?s bag and didn?t talk too much.
That was good. Justin didn?t like too many words.
?Good
book?" Blake slowly walked next to the patient and stopped, waiting
patiently if the young man stopped to have a look at something.
Justin
smiled. He liked his book.
?Fairytales
are cool." Blake unlocked a gateway door, let Justin through and locked
again behind him. ?I always thought the one with the frog was pretty
cool."
Justin
smiled more broadly. Page 24 ? 29, The Frog Prince. He liked the?
??shiny
gold ball."
"Yes!
Awesome thing." Blake laughed. ?I wouldn?t mind having one of those
myself."
Justin
beamed, hugged his book tightly and got a nice warm feeling in his belly.
?Hey
you know what?? I?m quite jealous. Your
room is bigger than my apartment." Blake entered a room on the right side
at the end of the corridor and Justin stopped.
He
was confused.
His
door should be on the left. He was sure about that. Justin Taylor?s door always
was green and on the left, but Blake carried his bag to a room on the right and
the door he went through was white.
Hmm.
Justin carefully stuck his head through the doorframe and looked around
sceptically. It smelled of white, like white and syringe water. He wasn?t sure
he would like that at all.
?It?s
ok.? Blake put the bag down and smiled at his patient.
The
young man whimpered quietly and beat his head rhythmically against the
doorframe. Not really hard but clearly disturbed.
?I
am always nervous too if I have to move to a new place."
Justin
looked at the male nurse and felt his eyes moisten. "?not green."
"Yes,
the walls are quite monotonous." Blake held the boy carefully but securely by his arm and led him into the
room. ?Perhaps we can put a green picture on the wall."
??green."
Justin looked around anxious. White cupboards, white walls, white bed, and
everything smelled of syringe water. Certainly needles would lie under the
pillow and in all the drawers. He rubbed his arm at where it bent because he
was sure it was aching.
Blake
took Justin?s tense fingers and smiled at him friendly. ?Hey, isn?t the frog
green? The one with the gold ball?"
Justin
stopped scratching his arm. Page 25. The frog was rather green - as grass and
broccoli.
"There
is a creative therapy with Miss Peterson tomorrow. She certainly has the right
pens around to paint a frog."
Justin
saw right past Blake at one blank spot on the wall, but he smiled slightly. He
knew how to paint, with pens and slippery finger paint and a lot of...
??paper."
?Yes."
Blake laughed. ?I was in the drawing room only yesterday. They have piles of
paper there."
Justin
bobbed up and down a bit. His fingers tickled. He wanted to paint the frog and
the fountain and the ball and the tower.
Hmm.
He contracted his eyebrows thoughtfully. No, the tower was not with the frog.
The tower was with the princess. The princess was waiting for the prince there
and always sat at the...
??window."
"Yes,
the view is wonderful, see?" Blake led his patient to the only window in
the room.
Justin
inspected it sceptically. It was a little narrow but not barred like the one at
the last tower. The male nurse opened it and fresh air streamed in. It smelled
good. Like rain and sun and red flowers. Justin smiled and touched his cheek
when he felt the gentle breeze.
Blake
also breathed in deeply and then stuck his head outside. ?Wow! If I would live
in this room I would sit right here the whole day."
Justin
had to snicker. Now that was really stupid. The man with the BLAKE tag wasn?t a
princess. Of course he couldn?t sit by the window.
Blake
turned around as he heard the boys? laughter and grinned. ?Yes, yes, I know.
I?m probably the laziest person the world has ever seen. I?m the foul apple
nurse of St. James."
The
boy still grinned, but absently saw past Blake as he spoke. ?At the 2nd
February."
?Hmm?
What?"
?We
had foul grapes.?? Justin bobbed up and
down a bit. ?February the second twothousand?twothousandandthree.?
Blake
smiled. ?Uh, I?m sure they tasted really bad, am I right?"
Justin
nodded.
?Yes,
but you know what I mean is?" the male nurse thought it over, searching
for a suitable example. ?Ahm, I am lazy just like the two elks in Brother
Bear."
Elks? Justin bobbed up and down a little more. He wasn?t sure what elks
were.? Perhaps they looked just like
bananas. Eww. He shuddered. He didn?t like rotten bananas at all.
"Hmm,"
Blake saw Justin's facial expression. ?You probably don?t know those two. Ok,
what?s with this dwarf. The one who?s always lazy and wants to sleep all the
time. You know?? He lives at Snow Whites
house."
Justin
griped his book a little higher in front of his chest and tipped his head to
the side. ?Sleepy."
Blake
snapped his fingers. ?Yeah this one. You see? I am exactly like Sleepy. If I
could I would sleep the whole day."
The
boy wrinkled his forehead and looked over to the white bed. He didn?t know
whether it was permitted or not for the man with the BLAKE tag, but perhaps he
could?
"?use
Justin?s bed for a while."
Because
Justin himself wouldn?t need it right know anyway. Justin should only sleep in
the evening at 8:05 pm and after the good night greeting on channel 4. Surely
not earlier.
?Oh
no!" Blake laughed and closed the window again. ?Believe me if I?d crawl
into your bed right know the next time I?d wake up would be sometime next
April."
?Hh!"
Justin was shocked. Next April? Surely this was longer than 8:05pm.
?It?s
ok." Blake got closer and smiled friendly. ?I have a bed of my own at my
apartment.? I?ll bring a photo tomorrow
and then you can see it."
Justin
bobbed up and down and hummed the melody that always came with the good night
greeting on channel 4. He preferred to be in bed after the good night greeting.
He certainly would be very tired by then.
?Hey,?
the male nurse stuck his hand out. "How about we introduce ourselves?? I am not really called Sleepy. Actually my
name is Blake."? He pointed at his
nameplate in addition.
Justin
immediately took the hint and tried to concentrate and recognize the name Plake
in the single BLAKE letters.
Blake
repeated slowly, ?Blake."
The
boy absently lowered his look and smiled. He liked the great P.? P like Pudding and?
"...Plake."
Blake,
once again said clearly. ?Blake."
?Plake."
?You
don?t like the B so much, ah?" Blake grinned, shook his head and took his
ignored hand and led it to Justin's fingers. He grasped them very loosely and
without any pressure. "And Dr. Marcus said your name is Justin."
?Justin
Taylor seven five Barton Avenue one seven zero three three Harrisburg Pennsyl-?
Justin turned a hair strand around his finger and rocked back and forth softly.
"Pennsylvania USA."
Blake
squeezed the pale fingers gently now. ?Great. See? Now we know each other.
Blake and Justin."
Justin
rocked a little more, smiling. ?Plake and Justin."
?Plake
and Justin?? Friends Plake and
Justin?"
?Plake
and Justin." Justin moved his little finger against Plakes hand. He liked
Plake.
Blake
grinned and pushed the dainty fingers once again briefly before letting go.
?Ok, Justin. I?ll leave you alone now so you can unpack your bag and
everything. Would you like to move your things into the drawers?"
Justin
looked over to the white drawers and wanted to paint them green.
?Oh
and?? The male nurse fetched a piece of paper from his pocket and wrote a
couple of words on it. ?See, this is your new address. You have moved. It?s not
Harrisburg anymore.??
Justin
took the piece of paper and stared at it. His rocking got stronger.
?Harrisburg. Justin Taylor seven five Barton Avenue one seven zero three three
Harrisburg Pennsylvania USA.?
Blake
remained completely calm. ?You live here now. I?ve written it down for you,
see? Justin Taylor, 3 Fuller Street, 15219 Pittsburgh Pennsylvania USA.?
Justin
wound the hair around his finger a tiny bit firmer. It was for certain that
Justin Taylor lived in Harrisburg. On the other hand, they drove really far
away in the car and now he was in a different tower. Perhaps he had really?
??moved?"
Blake
smiled. ?Moved. Justin has moved and lives here now. In beautiful Pittsburgh.?
He knocked Justin lightly on the shoulder. ?See you later, yes? I?ll bring your
dinner at 6 pm.?
Justin
heard Plake close the door and stood still for a moment. Then he looked to the
left. A chair with a grey cushion was in the corner between the cupboard and
the window.? He went over and sat down
slowly and very carefully before lightly bouncing up and down on the
cushion.? He checked whether the chair
was just as comfortable as his chair in Harrisburg or not. He was not
convinced, but perhaps one could ?
??read?
in here?
Hmm.
He put the book on his lap, looked at it for a while and opened it. Yes, it
worked.
Carefully
and only with his fingertips he turned the pages over. Page 14, page 15, page 16.
He smiled. The prince with the white jacket and the tower with the princess
were on page 16.
He
looked at it some time, then turned to page 17 and to his favourite
drawing.? The one where the prince
climbed quite courageously on the princess? fair and long hair up the tower
and-
Suddenly
he stiffened with fright. His heartbeat sped up and his throat got so tight
that he could hardly breathe.
He
had moved!
Justin
Taylor was not in Harrisburg anymore.
Justin
Taylor lived in a new tower now.
Oh
no! How should the prince ever be able to find him now?
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