sboverc26

There once was a young girl who lived in the land of the beautiful. (And the free apparently.) From a young age she heard tales of a far away island kingdom that had beautiful mountain scenery, strange but delicious food, enchanting music, handsome princes and princesses, and people who spoke in a tongue quite different from her own. After hearing these stories she would ask any travelers she came across about that kingdom. What was it like? Was it cold? Was it hot? How long did it take to get there? What are the people like? She read books, gathered information, often dreamed about the kingdom, and even tried praticing some of the language on her own. She grew to become a decent young lady, but even then her fascination had yet to subside. So one day, she decided she would go to that kingdom and see it for herself. She worked and worked and saved all the money she could. She packed only what she needed and donated the rest of her possessions to the people in her community. With a tearful goodbye to her family and friends, she boarded a vessel and began her adventure. When she arrived, the land was just like the pictures she had seen: very familiar but quite quite different from her home. Nevertheless, she was glad she came. She entered school to learn the language and made friends, both native to the kingdom and others, like herself, who had come from far away places she'd never heard of. But living in the kingdom was harder than she expected. Trade between countries was becoming strict, increasing the price of goods. Therefore the money she brought wasn't enough to support her like she'd planned. She decided to take a job, but the king's law restricted non-natives in the type of work they could do and the number of hours they could work. On top of that, the girl only received a temporary pass into the kingdom; she needed to have a valid reason to receive a pass to stay longer. She couldn't afford to leave. She couldn't afford to stay (although she wanted to). Despite all these hardships, the girl was so very happy. At school, the friends she'd made returned to their homelands one by one and she became very lonely. She decided to focus her energy and worked hard at school and so she became very good with the language. She took a job at a popular restaurant and, as she was the only girl amongst a kitchen full of men (who were quite handsome by the way), they took to her and encouraged her to do her best. She worked hard cooking, sweeping, washing, and preparing dishes for the customers (all within kingdom regulated hours of course). The other women in the restaurant seemed to be jealous of her relationship with the kitchen staff (or something) and often treated her unkindly, but she didn't mind it. She was living her dream. She rented a tiny room that had only a bed and a desk and when she arrived home every evening, she would eat a small dinner, study, and then go to bed. And at night the princess of the kitchen dreamed about her prince... It's been almost two years since she left her kingdom and to this day, the young girl is still working and attending school. But who knows what will become of her once her pass expires? One thing is for sure: whether in a cold tiny room huddled over a desk, or in a hot kitchen with a broom in her hand (while being scolded of course), she surely has a smile on her face.