Nighttime. It is paradoxical for me to tell you that nighttime is the most comforting time of day, or in this case night, out of the 24 hours each of us have every single day, before the clock seems to reset itself and another dawn breaks with new opportunities (if I feel like channeling my inner Anne Shirley of Green Gables right now). But in all honesty and seriousness, there is something magical about the post dusk hours. Those hours too far removed from the new day to make you all paranoid about not getting enough sleep, if you take these moments and reflect on yourself, your aspirations, on your…

I have over 150 allergies and most of them decided to make my life a miserable version of an existence about one year and two months ago, November 2013. I was always exhausted. My breathing was laboured and felt like a full-time job that you hate to wake up to every single morning. And inhaling through both nostrils was a fantasy to me. I was desperate. I had no idea why this was happening all of a sudden and how to make it stop. I was in such a bad state I was about to give my pet rabbit away, because I thought her fur was to blame. On a…

Chapter 1 One may say that friendship is an integral and important part of a person’s life. The existence of a friend to confide in and to share secrets with, someone that accepts us as we are and make us feel loved is something most people love, cherish, sometimes take for granted, but are always aware of its significance. Most people, but not all. Such is the case of Catherine Montenegro. A bright young woman, intelligent, very pretty and cold as a fish. She is of the opinion that friends, friendship or the spending of “quality time” with other people when not discussing topics that expands the human mind in…

Knocks of politenessKnocks of invitationsKnocks of deliveriesKnocks of deliveranceKnocks that should never have beenAnd knocks that never will beIntrusion of privacy that sees the nakedness of body and soulPrivacy that never was and is now feared will never be.

Seven stories highNoises loud and shadows highIn the darkness sounds have no bodyBut during the day I have nobodyIn darkness lights shine bright with hope and warmthLights that promise hope of peace and harmonyBy day the wrath of structure and discipline rulesExpectations of adult sense and logic burn as hot as the mid-day’s sunIn darkness I can vanish from the scolding handAs I take comfort in the light that never shines.

I was born and raised in Berlin, Germany, meaning my first language is German. I grew up eating everything potato for dinner and my choice of beverage was cooled hibiscus tea. Although I grew up in a fairly German household, Germany is known to be home to a great number of European immigrants, mostly from the eastern countries. My homeroom in elementary, middle and high school was at least 50% non-German, so my friends belonged to a variety of different religions and backgrounds and spoke languages that were not German as their first tongue. I was used to this mix of cultures, even though as a child of German ancestry…