Page 38 - SU AIT Magazine

A White Dream

In her free time Wendy is working on her dream to publish a novel (in
Flemish). For SU magazine she translated (and adapted) an excerpt

from this novel. Her novel consists of stories of different characters
that are interlinked. This short extract is about Myrtle, a victim of the

White Dream, a new disease which is invading the world, especially
young people. It starts with white spots on human body which grow

until whole body is white. The pain also grows and most people die
within six months. It’s a big mystery what causes the disease.

“W inter is probably the last season

that I will experience.”
She showed him the white
spots on her arms, her legs and her bare back,
which are getting bigger and bigger. Soon
they will cover her whole body. Her soul was
already totally blank.
She sighed. “But I’ve always hoped that I would
experience love. I know one will eventually
die alone, but I just do not want to feel alone
when I die.” She grimaced. “In the beginning,
even before I had this disease, I had always
this kind of idea that my whole life was about
getting saved by a Prince Charming and…”
“Saved from what?” her friend interrupted.
This question surprised her.
“I don’t know,” she finally answered.
He did not say anything and she was grateful
for that.
“I always liked a good fairytale,” she said. “Stories
can heal wounds that regular medicine can
not.”
“I remember you used to write stories yourself.”
“Yes… I did…”
“Tell me a story, Myrtle,” her friend said, “and
this time one where a girl saves herself.”
“Good,” she said. “You choose the end, so you
should also give me the first sentence.”
He smiles and then looked out of the window,
where the leaves of trees were coloring the

38 SU Magazine: In Harmony