Back when she was a kid Melanie had dreamt of so many things. She had dreamt of becoming a princess (only fuelled by a visit to Disneyland when she was almost four) or an actress or a teacher or an astronaut. She remembered learning all the names of the planets in their solar system, just in case.
She remembered every school play, training her for the day when she was on Broadway, every time she copied her teacher because her teacher was the best one ever and she wanted to be just as good.
And then she had to give up her dreams, even the more realistic ones.
Now her dream was to survive.