Between claws and fangs: the legend.

Dear Diary, I have decided to write my story, our story, which is incredibly unique in every way. Where should I begin? What can I say about myself, about us, that is relevant and helps anyone who reads this book understand how it all started? Undoubtedly, I had a fairly "normal" childhood after all, based on the classification of what is "normal" for most people. Although it is surely different for everyone. My name is Layla Muller, Lay for short, although sometimes I am also called Lissi, especially by my maternal grandmother. I'm not sure why. My brother Anthony, whom we call Thony, and I, grew up with two families, so to speak. Our parents divorced when I was only 3 years old and Thony was 9. Which, if you can say, was lucky for us, because our parents didn't have to fight "their war" on our shoulders. John, our father, is approximately 1.80m tall, has blue eyes, wears glasses to see from afar, and has short, curly, blonde hair. He can be considered quite an attractive man. He specializes in trips to Mexico, in the Riviera Maya. There, he rents holiday homes. On one of his very frequent business trips, he met and fell in love with his second wife, Angelina. They say it was love at first sight. Both of them are hopeless romantics. Angelina is not very tall. You could say she has something of an elf. It's a rather interesting appearance. Her long, curly, chestnut hair matches the discreet freckles on her face. Her olive green eyes are very beautiful. She knows stories and legends about elves, trolls, dwarves and other mythical creatures. As children, we loved those kinds of stories, like the one about trolls. Trolls are said to have skin similar to leather, very tough, and their movements are clumsy and awkward. They usually live underground, are creatures of the night, and hate the sunlight. A troll never willingly exposes itself to sunlight, as it would immediately turn into a stone sculpture. Therefore, if a human comes into contact with a gnome, it is sufficient to entertain the gnome until sunrise. If the troll turns into stone, nothing stands in the way of a successful and peaceful escape. This is how one would act if trolls were real creatures. We loved those stories, and when we were on holiday with them anywhere in the world they decided to take us. We would always speculate about which stone could have actually been some kind of troll or who knows what other magical being. We could have a lot of fun with it. Our imagination was always greatly stimulated. On the contrary, my brother was much more realistic. But in my particular case, my imagination was literally limitless; I liked to let myself be carried away by my imagination. Sometimes I dreamed of elves and dwarfs and a beautiful white horse on which I rode along the seashore. My dreams were very real, at least that's how I felt, and when I was awake, I liked to imagine that I was in the company of my 2 dogs. Of course, I didn't have any dogs, and that's why my companions were invisible, except to me, of course. They were huge and mischievous dogs. For a somewhat scared and insecure girl, it's an advantage to always have these companions at hand. Invisible companions don't turn their backs on you. Having too much imagination had the slight downside of making me enjoy isolating myself and taking refuge in my own world. This caused my mother some uncertainty and distress about whether everything was okay with me. I liked to play alone, so I didn't always have to settle for what others wanted and could do what I wanted, when I wanted. I loved my brother very much. But we didn't play together very often. I think it was because of the six-year age difference or because I was a bit peculiar when it came to choosing games. On the other hand, I knew how to take care of myself quite well, but I liked to feel pampered and protected. As an adult, that changed quite a bit, I would say, and I lived immersed in the harsh reality. What a pity, really! I love horses, and in the Riviera Maya, with my dad, there was enough space to learn to ride and practice it as a hobby. Of course, Thony and I spent most of our time with our mother, Gema. Mom is about 1.70 meters tall, with short, glossy jet-black hair and brown eyes. She is very petite and always well-dressed, with a rather classic style. She has been working for a long time at the bakery/pastry shop as a saleswoman, where she feels happy and also met her second partner and love of her life, Robin. At first glance, it is clear that they are happy with each other, but they do not consider marriage. Since both have been through a divorce, they do not believe that it is the path to happiness, and that is reason enough for them not to marry again. Robin Johnson, my stepfather, is rather small, with a bald head that suits him very well, a bit chubby in stature, but he makes my mother and us happy. They met on a lucky day when he took over the shop. Now they manage the day-to-day operations of Marbella bakery together in Copenhagen, Denmark. In addition to being one of the most beautiful bakeries in the world, it is famous for its delicious breads and addictive croissants, and it is also a perfect place to enjoy rich breakfasts and delicious homemade pastries for lunch or dinner. I must say that we had an exciting childhood with our two families. We were very lucky and had a lot of fun. Thony became a tailor and now creates his own designs, and even won the young designer award. He is very talented, however, it was a difficult journey. But it was his year. After that, his career took off dramatically. As for me, I studied pastry and learned how to be a master baker/pastry chef. I dreamed of pursuing a career as a pilot, but then I had to admit to myself that I was not good enough for that or did not have the right appearance. Anyway! I had my dream world for that. As I closed my eyes at night, as a child and as a teenager, he was there, my white stallion, which could only be ridden by me and who listened very well to my thoughts. But since you can't live in imagination, I took the easier path and started studying the culinary world. After learning, I immediately started working in my parents' business. I pursued my career in Geneva to improve my language skills at the same time. We already had French and English classes at school. Thanks to our regular vacations in the United States, we were fortunate to grow up with English from a young age. It couldn't even cross my mind by chance, no matter how much imagination I had, that someday, what I had as an unreal and fantasy universe, would become more real than the world I lived in. And I was about to find out.