Andrea Petrlik Huseinovic

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Polly Turner
7 years ago
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1 Andrea Petrlik Huseinovic

2 To my Mother

Everybody has heard the story about Cinderella. It is a story about a little girl who lost her mother and father and was left with someone who was not able to love her as much as her parents.

3 Everybody has heard the story about Cinderella. It is a story about a little girl who lost her mother and father and was left with someone who was not able to love her as much as her parents. Does anyone think about all the children who grow up without love and warmth? They are lonely and sad. They are misunderstood and rejected, and they search for love. They search for it in their dreams, in fairy-tales, among their toys, among birds, animals and flowers. All around us sad children are growing into sad people all the time. This is a story about such a girl.

There was a little girl who lived in a city, in a tall skyscraper. She was only ten years old, and was completely alone. There were women and men around but everyone had a child of their own.

4 There was a little girl who lived in a city, in a tall skyscraper. She was only ten years old, and was completely alone. There were women and men around but everyone had a child of their own. Nobody could love her in just the way parents love their kids. She simply did not belong to them. She did not like to play with other kids. She did not like their company. She belonged only to herself, quiet, closed up in herself and alone. Had someone hugged her with care and love, had she only experienced a little warmth, the story would have been different. It had not happened, and she only painted pictures, as blue as the sky, read sad stories and stared out of the window. If someone had said to her a nice word she would not have heard it; it was too late. She built a tall wall around herself. Her skyscraper became a high tower; nobody could reach her. She started to live in a world of her own.

5 There was a window on the top of the tower. The whole day she watched the blue sky and the clouds through the window. A long time ago somebody told her that her mother was among the clouds. So she looked for her image in every cloud. Hundreds of blue birds flew around her tower every day.

6 The birds got used to her and started to come closer. She could talk to them for hours. She was not alone anymore. She had someone to touch with her small hand, someone to whom she could talk about the time when she was happy. Each day she would remember something from her past.

Soon she discovered that various creatures lived among the clouds. There was a snail there. It carried its house on its back. It was the only one who lived in that house.

7 Soon she discovered that various creatures lived among the clouds. There was a snail there. It carried its house on its back. It was the only one who lived in that house. From time to time a cloud would fly through the house. The girl happily waved her hand at the snail. She remembered how she and her mother used to rescue the snails. They would take every snail that found itself on the pavement to the grass.

8 After the snail a mouse appeared. What a strange mouse, the girl said in a low voice. That must be a mouse from a fairy tale, she thought. She knew many fairy tales because her mother used to tell her fairy tales at bedtime.

9 One day an elephant appeared among the clouds and the blue birds. It was huge and gray, and walked with huge steps across the sky. The girl liked it. Her mother used to go to the zoo with her and they would feed elephants there. Maybe that was one of those elephants.

Another day a strong wind blew trough the sky. The sky was gray, and the blue clouds hurried in all directions. the book Alice in Wonderland. Her mother read the book to her.

10 Another day a strong wind blew trough the sky. The sky was gray, and the blue clouds hurried in all directions. the book Alice in Wonderland. Her mother read the book to her. Yes, that was the rabbit. Suddenly a rabbit appeared. The wind brought a blue clock to the rabbit so it could tell the time. It looked familiar to the girl. It reminded her of

And then, just when she remembered the turtle to whom she and her mother had fed lettuce, a turtle appeared in the sky. Its long leg protruded under the shell where it sheltered.

11 And then, just when she remembered the turtle to whom she and her mother had fed lettuce, a turtle appeared in the sky. Its long leg protruded under the shell where it sheltered. There was no one else in the sky but soft clouds, and it could walk freely. The girl asked where it went. The turtle was not scared because the girl seemed tender and somehow lonely. I am looking for the lady who used to feed me a long time ago. She always fed me well. I have heard that she lives somewhere among the clouds. I am looking for her, the turtle said.

12 The next day a blue bird came. It was strange. It looked as if it were made of clouds. And just when the girl asked herself what connection it could have with her mother, the bird said: I am a heavenly bird. A long time ago when I lived on Earth I hurt my wing. I could not fly. A woman took me tenderly, and fed me and took a good care of me until I was healed. There was a little girl with her. I have heard from some birds that the woman became a heavenly creature, just like me. I have been looking for her for days. I would like to thank her, the blue bird said. That is my mother. Where could I find her? asked the girl. But the bird was not there. It had disappeared in the clouds.

And just when the girl lost all hope that she would find her mother, another bird appeared. It was also very strange. It had a door on its chest. Who are you? asked the girl.

13 And just when the girl lost all hope that she would find her mother, another bird appeared. It was also very strange. It had a door on its chest. Who are you? asked the girl. A long time ago I was a blackbird. One morning I fell out of the nest and could not return. I thought I would never see my mother again. But suddenly a woman came with her little girl. They took me tenderly and warmed me in their hands. They found my nest and returned me to my mother. Today I came to return the lost girl to her mother. Come through the door and climb the stairs into the sky. You will find all the love and care that you lost long ago, the blackbird said in a low voice. The girl went through the door and climbed the stairs. Nobody has ever seen her again. The birds that fly in the blue sky say that she is somewhere in the clouds, together with her mother.

This photo was taken by my mom in summer of 1972. I was five and a half then. Five years later the saddest thing in my life happened. I lost my mother and father.

14 This photo was taken by my mom in summer of I was five and a half then. Five years later the saddest thing in my life happened. I lost my mother and father. During the years that followed I grew up, graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts, got married and became the mother of a girl. I have illustrated numerous picture books. But my greatest wish was to make a picture book of my own. The idea for this picture book came to me in the fall of 2001 while I was attending a UNESCO-BIB art workshop in Bratislava. I dedicate this picture book to my mother. From her I inherited my love for colors, paint and brushes. In my work I continue from where she stopped. The Author

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