Virtual walk by Cecilie Sørensen in English

Virtual walk

By Cecilie Sørensen

The walk was always the day's highlight for Elly. It was the same route through the park every time, but it did not matter.Noah was by her side and talked about everything that occurred to him. She just smiled and followed him. The sound of his voice was more soothing than various yoga exercises merged. Her Noah. The best!

"... And he was just so stupid to listen to! Have never heard anything like it! So I said to him: Are you disabled or what? He understood it and just not ... "said Noah with big arm movements that supported the story. Her legs stopped working and her eyes stared at him. Handicapping! She felt downtrodden. Elly raised his hand ready to give him a singing smack. But she could not. The legs shook under her. Out of control.

"El-l-ly, I meant the one-no, you know t ..." Noah stammered when he was nervous. His tribe was generally sound, which only took part in conversations he had with anyone other than her. Rage swept through her. The blood pumped around as a racehorse in her body. The anger came first, but the rage was almost as fast runner. Noah looked timidly at her. It was the first time he had said something negative about disability. About her.

"Un-ndskyld."

 Elly looked away, her eyes found some small, thick kids who were playing by the fountain. Your problem could be solved.Permanent was not part of their diagnosis.

"Go," she said doggedly. He would not see her collapse on the bench. No fun for him!

"Elly, I bekl-stock."

There were only a few seconds yet.

"GO NOAH!" He removed his eyes from her and turned on his heel and trudged off. Ellys thoughts were Noah's thoughts, but not vice versa. Elly dumped down on the bench in the same, he disappeared behind a tree. The thick children squealed and laughed, while Elly sobbed and opened up the solitude.

"Really?" It sounded quite unlikely in her ear. "Yep, work pays, so of course you also need a new computer." Ellys father smiled and held awkwardly on the big computer box. A renewal. Scrap pile without internet was finally driven to the terminus. The box was placed on Ellys chalky white desk, while the old version lying on the floor and wept silently. 
   After several hours of cursing and "iiih see" commentary drove the laptop quickly and growled happily every time something new was opened. Elly was surfing the web with open mouth and raised his eye brows. It was only at home with Noah that she was online. Noah? She closed her eyes. No, Noah was not there anymore. Stupider than stupid he was ... Her parents had forgotten to connect to the Internet from her computer now forgotten. Finally, she had the opportunity to explore the web alone. 
    "Plop!" said the laptop, and a yet unexplored site popped up. 
    "Chatmeddanskere.dk". Curiosity grabbed her and she landed in Create a profile now! The questions were many, many more than the stupid buddy books that she few times had written in. Tik thanks, the minutes passed, and the last question appeared: Your profile name . Elly bit his lip. "ELLY" she typed, but the computer growled sour: The name is taken. What aboutElly123? stupid, but she would try this. A little voice whispered, namely: You can make new friends, Elly! Enter was hit, and a chat room turned up. Thousands of messages with identical messages attacking her. 
   "Welcome!"

   "Hey, what's up?"

   "Welcome Elly123!"

   "Someone, hugs Elly!"

   Shocked, she looked on screen. Who were these people? What had she done? Tik thanks, the seconds went ...

   "Hey Elly123 are you there?" J and A keys flashed almost, and she gently fulfilled their wishes. "Cool, I'm Christian007! How are you today? "

   "I feel fine, thank you for asking. How are you today? "

   "Ha ha, not so formal! I feel damn pretty well, counting down to the old lets me move when I turn 18! "Shock leaped. This Christian was 17 almost 18! Arms shook. Out of control. She leaned back in his office chair. None of that age had ever talked to her. At least not voluntarily. Tik thanks, the seconds went by.

   "Elly, are you there?"

   "Well, excuse me ..." The voice screamed in her head. Do not tell him about your handicap! Then he leaves you just like the other guy. Find something else! She frowned. There was no good liar saved her. But on the other side ... no one could see her face hesitant or shaky body here.

"... Was just something in his eye."

"Are you okay?" A small smile found its way into her face. Where was he nice! He cared about her. There was no one who did more ...

Breakfast table was empty, as always, apart from a small bowl that matched the shining silver spoon beside it. It was empty, although it was Sunday, according kitchen calendar. Elly trudged with red eyes go to the closet and found the bag of oatmeal ahead. There had been a time where there was little sticky notes on the closet door. How many years ago was it that she had last seen one like that ...? "Not dwelling on the past, think of the now," muttered Elly and shoveling oatmeal into the boring.

RING RING! She dropped the spoon on the floor and looked at the phone. People used not to call on Sundays. Or Monday. Or ... She took the phone and said: "It is Elly."

Noah's flood of chatter was endless. Some words came again. Especially words like "sorry" and "Forgive Me" was used a lot. The pain still stuck. Without a word she hung up and continued with the morning meal. After she had taken yet another shining silver spoon.

The computer hummed happily as if it had just been running a virus check with great success. Elly logged quickly and soon discovered Christian name and his first message.

"Good morning! Now, did you not too late to bed yesterday, right? "

"No, no, I'm fully rested." It was just a little lie. You heard any beeps. More people logged on. Elly looked surprised at the names. The funniest was "jegelskerkage4ever" and "Jesuserminfar". She laughed. Virtual friends was fun.

"Hi Elly, you have shown I have not had the pleasure to greet. How are you? "The message came unexpectedly from a boy who called himself Gabriel578. She put her head slightly tilted. Gabriel was a weird name, something called the neighbor's three-legged old male.

She probed quickly: "Did it just fine. You? "

"Is a little sad, but now that I have your company, I have already much better." Christian was faster than her and wrote scornfully: "Haha, sorry? Be a man and tighten up a little rest! "

Elly wished briefly that he could see her facial expressions, so he could feel the stinging knives, she sent the computer screen instead. "Be nice to Gabriel," wrote others and Elly leaned back in his chair. That was the problem in an open chat. Everybody could talk to everybody and say what they had at heart. "Elly, you are on a private chat?" It was Gabriel who asked. She felt stupid when she slowly typed, "Can you do that?"

   "Yes, you just press on my name and choose" private chat "so that we have our own chat window."

   "Ok."

   Elly looked startled at the bell. Parents would come in less than ten minutes, and she had nothing done. Apart from ...

   "Hey, are you still there?"

   She had written to him all day. Leet with him all day.

   "Yes."

   "I just get a little worried when you do not answer me. That's all. "

   "You do not have to worry about me." A Happy tingling crawled through the wall of loneliness. Gabriel understood her. No one understood her, except Noah. But he was gone now ...

   "I wish that I could see you." 
    She frowned. The confusion took hold and made her poor. Gabriel was her new virtual friend. If he met her in real life, he would return as soon as he saw her.

   "You will not see me, you just get disappointed."

   "Nothing could disappoint me, as long as you're just you." It was unbelievable, the things he could say that made her almost changed my mind. The voice whispered: You do not! He will just make you laugh! It could be someone from the class who want to humiliate you!

   "I can not." He did not answer. The cars rolled into the private garage under the apartment like little ants returning with food for the colony.

Elly looked back on the kitchen calendar. The summer holidays start approaching, and her joy for life was greater than ever before. The smile could not be removed, as she trudged into the room with breakfast in hand. The first message peeped out before the first mouthful was chewed through. 
    "Hey honey, how are you today?"

   "Well, what about you?"

   "Very well, but I've thought of something." Tik thanks seconds left. She waited anxiously to hear what Gabriel would now say. "Shall we not meet?" Elly, remember now what I said last time! whispered voice, but before it was finished, she had the answer.

   "Of course, where and when?" No one should decide over her. Gabriel was the best friend she ever had. Although Noah ... No!Gabriel understood her. He liked her. The best and then some. But she had not seen him ...

The sun cut in Ellys eyes as she stepped out of the shiny new front door. Solitude wall had long since been broken down, but now took hold nervousness and tightened their grip on her legs. The price was the park that she had actually missed. When had she last walked on the ground?

   "Hey, watch out!" She stopped. The red man at the traffic lights shone, and the young man who had yelled at her, ran forward in his Volkswagen.

   She sat on the bench . Gabriel had promised to take a hat reading "I Love CPH", so she could recognize him. Tik thanks, the minutes went by. What if it is a violent criminal! Have you ever thought this through? asked, his voice and a small drop of sweat ran down on the bench. Slowly she rose, but at the same moment there was one that touched her shoulder. 
    Elly twitched and spun around. She stared at the "I Love CPH" - cap and then into Noah's lovely blue eyes. 
    "Hey Elly," he said, smiling like a puppy that had just received his first toy. No paralysis. Full control. Before she knew it, she put her arms around Noah and pressed him to her. Tears sprang to replace sweat drops and she whispered softly: "You idiot ... You are forgiven."