Imaginary World

I am looking at an old photo of myself, it’s lost most of its colors, it’s turned mostly yellow. I must have been four or five years old. Surrounded by luscious greenery, I am sitting on my knees in our garden, looking to the distance, holding my teddy bear, wearing pink pyjamas and a necktie as fancy dress.

I have quite some memories about taking this picture. Taken by my grandfather, I remember thinking this will be a photo they will use for my album cover. At that age I was living in a dream world of being a pop star, making records, performing. Every round object I could find turned into a record, every rag a costume, every stick a microphone.

While I had this imaginary world inside me, the reality was often dark, and maybe this darkness was the reason this world was born.

Healing traumas is a journey. And on this journey, the teddy bear and that boy have now come to life in 2023 to discover that the imaginary world has, in fact, manifested itself.