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Winter Sun A warm midday sun bathes the resort and its occupant in an unnatural but comforting January heat. Formless clouds float over imposing hotels, providing them with a picturesque yet ominous background. Within the grounds of the Marina Hotel, amongst the trees and parasols, brilliant sunlight shimmers on the swimming pool’s surface, lighting her way. Like a beacon of hope, it guides her on her journey, gently pulling her through the waves. Alone, she lets the serene feeling of weightlessness overwhelm her; carrying her to another place… Like everyone with a destroyed self-confidence, she’s never considered herself pretty, but lying there surrounded by peaceful warmth she is able to transform herself into the most stunning woman the world has ever known. Her mind’s eye creates another world where she is able to remove the stomach she’s tried so hard to flatten, the birthmark on her thigh and the mole on her cheek. Her hair becomes long and blonde against short and auburn whilst her eyes become the deepest green, replacing the dull brown she’s been cursed with. For her, after a lifetime of bullying and cruelty, beauty is definitely skin-deep; a shame she cannot see the beauty she exudes, witnessed by all of her friends and family when they look at her. To herself, she is ordinary, plain, nonexistent; but to all who know her, she lights up a room with her presence; dispels the darkest of clouds and removes any sorrow. It is only a matter of time before she opens her eyes and bears witness to what others see, but for the moment, she drifts along in her own world... |
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