Now, I'm no longer the wooden puppet, Pinocchio, but a whole different side of him. My name is August, in your world, a real man finally honest and fulfilled with his father and the people he loves. But I wasn't always that man, it took a long time. I have assimilated myself as a good person, like the person that I am finally worthy to be, for a short time. So, I decided to tell you my story.
Thirty years ago, I made a promise to my father: take care over young Princess Emma, Snow White's daughter. At that moment, she was just a baby, barely a day old. I had to make sure that on her twenty-eighth birthday, she broke the evil queen's curse. This lifted curse will allow me to find my father.
I was only seven at the time but I was so excited to see my dear daddy again so keeping that promise was an obligation for me. I still see the last image of my old father's face, filled with tears, saying goodbye to me before closing the wardrobe.
I found myself in a strange world, with machines that fly in the sky comparing birds, or even buildings that don't look anything like what I saw in the Enchanted Forest. In this dense and deep forest where the wardrobe transported me, I find this magnificent baby. Who could believe that this innocent child already had a fate laid out? You could even say the same thing for me, but the future will decide very differently in my case. So I carry Emma in my little arms with her blanket and I walk, I walk, hoping that someone might be able to give me some information.
Having run around for several hours with an infant weighing just three kilograms, I felt tired and nearly passed out. But then, I saw a sign where I could read "BOSTON" (luckily I went to school a bit to learn to read). I found myself in a small alley near a Dinner. I saw some kind of horseless "wheeled carriages" that seemed to walk on their own. A man yelled at me as I almost got run over:
« Hey, be careful where you go, kid! »
I pretended to apologize and stepped aside, stepping back. I didn't even see that I had jostled an old couple.
« Oh ! Excuse me ! »
« You look lost, my child, the old lady said worriedly, » she turned to Emma « Who is this little angel and what does a young boy your age do with a baby? Where are your parents? »
Although this woman and her husband looked very nice, I immediately understood that this world had nothing to do with mine, that magic didn't exist and that the customs were very different. I knew my main flaw was lying, but lying can still get us out of this kind of situation and then hiding the existence of magic or our world isn't really a lie, given that if we say the truth, we wouldn't be believed.
« Yes, I'm lost, I ... here is Emma, I found her on the side of the road, she was abandoned and alone and I too am alone, I have no parents, my father is gone ... and we've been walking for hours ... and ... » I cried hot with tears to make myself complain, « I don't know this city, I'm lost »
The old woman, taken by surprise, pulled Emma in her arms to free me and stroked my hair, she approached me.
« Oh dearie, I'm sorry for both of you. We can accommodate you for a while if you want ... »
« No ! » her husband interrupted , « Judy, we're too old to take care of these kids. »
« But look at them, Paul, this boy is scared and dying of fatigue and the poor little one is cold ... »
The man didn't pity us, he approached me.
« My boy, I know a very good orphanage horizonschildren, his name is, he is not far from here, I will take you with your little protégé. You will undoubtedly have the chance to meet a good family who will adopt you. »
« I don't want to be separated from Emma » I exclaimed kissing the little one on the forehead
« You won't be separated, I promise you, kid. »
He smiled at me, took my hand and took me to the orphanage on foot. His wife followed us, still with Emma in her arms.
We came to a wicket where a young woman was waiting for us.
« Go ahead, tell her all the information she asks you for, » the man recommended
I walked over to her.
« Hello Madam »
« Good morning kid »
« I need a home, for me and for Emma, I found her in the street.
« How old are you ? »
« I'm almost 8 years old and Emma has just been born ... »
« Where are your parents? »
« We were abandoned ... »
« I just have to write an article for the little girl, if her parents ever find her ... Alright, what's your name? »
« My name is Pi ...
« it may be a strange name for this world but I saw August writing on a piece of paper in front of her, it was the first word I had read, without thinking »
« August , my name is August. »
I spent more than a year in this hell: rotten food and especially men and women who torture us physically and mentally ... I remember a certain Mr Raskind who didn't want me to repair the cradle Emma and that hit me. But, I promised my father that I would watch over Emma so I ignored my suffering, until one day when children of my age came to offer me something that turned that promise upside down.
« Hey », The most paunchy told me « Can you keep a secret? »
I nodded. He took a large quantity of money out of his hand. I was amazed and surprised.
« Where did you get that ? »
« Stole it from the sock drawer, it's enough to buy us all bus tickets out of here and go see the world ... So you wanna come?
This boy looked pretty nice and his four friends who were looking at me with a big smile were too and if they could help me leave this dreadful place, I was immediately taken ... But, I was going to forget the most important: Emma!
« I told my father I'd take care Emma, can she come? Please ! »
« We can't take care of a baby. You want to stay here for the rest of your life, be my guest.
What to do ? I felt like I was going back. When I was still a puppet and someone offered to go to Pleasure Island and leave my dad alone. I was never really proud of that time.
I looked at Emma, so cute, with her little mouth trying to say "don't go, stay". But, I had to join them. How could a seven year old kid live in this new world without knowing anything? I realized that my father asked too much of me and that after a year of living with Emma in an austere and scary place without having discovered anything about it, I could no longer. I wanted to live my life without having someone dictate my conduct. I'll find her eventually, later. And then, it's just a baby, social services will take good care of her. If I had known what she would have gone through later, I would never have left her ... Today, I bitterly regret having trusted social services.
I looked at my little protégé, her sad face, approached the cradle and stroked her forehead. I'm just saying:
« I'm so sorry, Emma. »
Then, I left to join my group of friends without looking back ...