His first memory

Mother’s anxious face peering at him from above

A tiny little heart bursting with love

He tries to let it out,

Needs to let it out

He opens his mouth

 

Nothing

 

When he is six, his mother shoves some rusty coins and a loaf of bread into a bag so worn that two of the coins fall out. She takes him to the edge of the forest, tells him to stay and turns around and briskly walks away. This is the last time he sees her.

 

A man pauses at the edge of the forest

Eyes glinting with intrigue

Asks for his name

He has no words

stands up to gesture

Intrigue is swallowed by a sneer

He is left with a sneer and a kick to the shin

 

There is no more bread

 

They find him

The one with glasses

asks for his name

He does not stand or gesture

He fumbles in his bag and

Draws out a single rust crusted coin

He has never seen such a kind smile before

 

They call him Dopey

He is embarrassed at first

But his parents called him the worst

thing to have happened to them

They all have funny names here

He forgets what Mother called him and doesn’t care

 

Wake, work, eat, sleep

Wake, work, eat, sleep

Wake, work, eat, sleep

Wake, work, eat, sleep

With friends

 

They find her in their room

His heart is racing his whole body trembling

And then she smiles at him

He has only seen a smile so kind

Once before in his life