Dear Everyone,

I would like to thank you for taking the time to read my story. The fact that people from all over the world enjoy my stories means a lot to me. Feel free to leave a comment. I hope each and everyone of you will have a lovely time. Now let's continue this story, shall we?


Life is a shipwreck
But we must not forget to sing in the lifeboats
Voltaire (1694-1778)

"Gutesheim orphanage" I read the sign next to the door and realized that the name didn't suit the place at all. "Gutesheim means good home, but the orphanage is a terrible place. " I said to Heide while crying. Heide knelt down and comforted me. "I know, that's why we are going away." "But where will we go." My adoptive mother sighed "We'll figure that out later. First we need money to get out of this village. "The money we took with us was just enough to buy a small loaf of bread. I started to worry. "The wagon is very expansive. How will we get enough money to get out of Rahnsdorf?" Heide took a deep breath "By begging. Come Gilbert, let's get away from here."

The wind that blew in my face was strong and ice cold. It was hard to walk forwards and soon I started to shiver. There weren't many people on the streets. Nearly everyone was sitting inside in their warm, comfortable house, warming their hands at the furnish. "Can you wait here for a while?" Heide asked when we stopped in a quiet alleyway. "What are you going to do?" I asked nervously. "I'm going to the center to get some money. Don't worry I'll return here when the sun goes down, which is very soon. Okay?" I nodded and sat down on the ground.

It felt as if time was passing very slowly. I was alone and all I could do was watching the people who came and went. Sometimes I would get out of the alleyway to ask people for money, however, no-one gave anything to me. Most people would ignore me, or tell me that they didn't have anything to give me. Some of them would even get angry, call me scum and even spit in my face. It made me feel terrible. After a while I decided to stop begging. It had no use. I sat down and remembered the homeless boy I used to see long ago. "Is this what he felt every single day?" I thought. "I hope he is doing well!"

"Did you lose your parents too?" A little girl interrupted my thoughts. "No my mother is... at the market she'll return soon." The girl started to cry "I lost my daddy! He will never find me!" "Hey don't cry1 I'm sure he will find you soon." My encouragement didn't help. The girl kept crying. "Do you like fairytales?" I asked. The girl nodded. "I like to write them. I've got some in this book. Do you want to hear them?" She dried her eyes and settled next to me. As I told my stories I realized how happy the girl looked. "Do you like my fairytales?" she nodded "When I am a mommy I'm going to tell your stories to my kids." Her words made me feel warm. Despite my poor conditions I cheered up a sad child. it filled me with joy. "Hannelore?" a tall pale man called. "It's my daddy!" the girl said. She got a coin from her bag and gave it to me. "Thank you for the fairytales."

A little while later Heide returned. She looked very sad about something. "I've got enough money for the wagon. Let's go!" I took my mother's hand and started to walk with her. After a five minute walk we arrived at the wagon. Heide gave the money to the horse rider and we hopped on. "Where are we going?" I asked when we started to ride. "To the center of Berlin, the capital of Prussia." "How did you get enough money so quickly?" Heide bit her lip and whispered in my ear. "I can't tell you, you are too young to understand." "But I want to understand." "Trust me Gilbert you don't. The things I had to do for those banknotes are... very gross. Even though we can get out of town now, I regret earning them." Tears were streaming down her eyes. I could see that Heide really felt upset. "I'm sorry Mutti." Heide patted my back "It's okay. You couldn't know."

It didn't take long before we reached the center of Berlin. Despite the fact that it wasn't far from Rahnsdorf Berlin looked completely different. The streets were very busy, and the lanterns made the city look colorful, even after sunset. As I hopped off the wagon I noticed a poster on the wall. Underneath the drawing of a young boy playing piano were black curly letters. I walked towards the wall and read the words on the poster. "Roderich Edelstein, 20 November" I couldn't read the other letters, as they had faded too much. "20 November, that's today isn't it?" Heide nodded "Roderich Edelstein, I've heard a lot about him. He is a wunderkind from the Habsburg Empire. He is only a few years older than you Gilbert." "I would love to hear his music one day. I'm sure it will sound amazing"

We still had a bit of money left. We walked to the bakery and bought two small loafs of bread. After we ate we started to beg again. Once again we didn't have a lot of success. The many people that passed by ignored us. They were too busy to notice someone in need. After a few hours of wandering through the streets my feet started to hurt. "I'm tired Mutti." Heide picked me up "It's already getting late, let's find a place to rest."

Heide carried me until we left the center of Berlin. It wasn't that busy outside the center, which I enjoyed a lot. Soon we passed a fancy looking building. "Mutti, I hear music. Is that the wunderkind?" "Maybe." "Maybe we should rest near the building, so we can hear the rest of it." Heide nodded she took my hand and walked towards the building. I settled down and leaned against a wall. Despite being outside the concert hall, I could hear the music very well. It was incredibly beautiful. The harmonic sound of the piano relaxed me. For a moment it felt as if I was dreaming a beautiful dream.

"It's nice isn't it?" Heide leaned against me. I nodded "Mutti, do you have any dreams for the future?" "Of course." "Then what is your dream?" Heide smiled "My biggest dream is that you will be happy for the rest of your life." I chuckled "Really?" She nodded. "I used to dream of living in a big house near the beach, but now I have another dream." Heide laughed "Tell me." "My dream is that your dream will become true. Because when that happens both of us will be happy." I hugged my adoptive mother. She felt warm. "I love you Mutti."

Suddenly I noticed that the door opened. I peeked around the corner and noticed a boy. He had dark brown hair that looked very neat. His clothes looked fancy too, even his glasses looked like they were very expansive. His black coat was clearly made of silk. "Who's there?" The boy said. I quickly turned around. "He noticed us!" I thought about a place to hide, but it was too late, the boy walked around the corner. "Were you listing to my music?" "I-I am sorry" I stuttered. The boy smiled "Don't be. Music is for everyone, that's why I think all concerts should be free. You have the right to listen! Just like the rich people who paid for it. Oh excuse me, my name is Roderich Edelstein." I laughed "We know! We saw you on the poster." Roderich smiled "What's your name?" "Gilbert, and this is my mother, her name's Heide." "Roderich, the break's over!" "I'm coming. Excuse me I have to go. Please enjoy my performance." He waved at us and ran inside.

We spent the entire evening at the concert hall. The concert lasted until midnight, yet I stayed up because I wanted to hear every single serenade. After the concert was over I could see rich people everywhere. They were smiling and some of them were acting a little bit silly. Roderich was the last one to leave the building. He walked to the wagon at the gate and got a suitcase. To my surprise he walked towards us and opened the suitcase. Inside was a blanket. "Here, you can have it, Gilbert." "Don't you need it on your trip home?" Roderich laughed "No I don't! You need it more than I do. Mom will not be glad when she hears that I gave something away, but that doesn't matter. I'll be okay." "Thank you Roderich, you are too kind." I said "Have a good journey home!" Roderich nodded "God bless you! Please take care." And he left.

After everyone had left, we continued walking to find a place to sleep. Heide carried me, because I was too tired to walk on my own. I wore Roderich's blanked around my shoulder. It was so warm that I could easily ignore the cold wind. With the breathtaking music and Roderich's generosity on my mind I slowly fell asleep.