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 Thomas, whom we call Thom,

and I, grew up with two families, so to speak. Our parents divorced

when I was only 3 years old and Thom was 9. Which, if you can say,

was lucky for us, because our parents didn't have to fight "their

war" on our shoulders. Bob, 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

specialises 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 should 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 fantasy. Sometimes I dreamt 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, Thom 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 Stockholm, Sweden.

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. Thom 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 look. 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 on

fantasy, 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.