The Actress

By Hannah Jansson

The Actress leads a well-ordered life, learning her part and doing it well. But one night strange things begin to happen with a new script and her cat flees to the ledge outside her apartment window. Her rescue attempt leads to an unexpected escapade as one inexplicable event after another unfolds. Will she find her way back to ordinary life or is this real life, after all? Only one thing is certain, "All will be well."

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dale Stubbart
• Release date: Jun 8, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201304157

Book preview

Prologue

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Once there was a baby who fell into a deep sleep and when she woke up she was someone else. Mostly she didn’t know it, but deep inside she felt lonely when there were plenty of people, and frightened when there was no danger, and lost when all was familiar. She wanted to tell grown-ups when she felt frightened and lonely and lost, but they acted like something was so wrong with her that it frightened her even more, and she quickly decided it was better to pretend that everything was OK.

And so she became an actress. It was really quite fun because she enjoyed stories and plays and acting. She also liked to sing and dance, and soon she was singing and dancing and acting in plays at school. She was a great success and all her teachers encouraged her and her family was very proud of her.

And so she became a famous actress, and was never lonely because she had many fans who loved her. She did not feel lost because she always studied her part very carefully and worked hard to learn it so that she did not forget her lines or songs or dances, and always knew right where she was. But sometimes she still felt frightened and wondered why ...

Chapter 1

Ordinary Life

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I have a wonderful life, the actress told her cat, and no reason to be frightened. Her cat, who was never frightened, for she took good care that it would not be frightened, looked back at her and then yawned.

Am I so boring? she said.

Her cat, whose name was Tig, got up and rubbed its face against her to show that it was sorry for insulting her. Then Tig went over to the desk and jumped up on the script of the new play.

So you think it’s time to work, the actress laughed. She knew that Tig loved it when she practiced her lines and listened very happily as if it was all just for him.

She walked over to the desk but began to feel fearful as she did so. Tig waited and looked up at her as if to question her delay. She reached forward to pull the script out from under the cat, but became so frightened when her fingers touched it that she could not move. She snatched up the cat and ran to the other side of the room. Tig was not used to being handled so roughly and struggled out of her arms. He ran back to the desk and jumped up on the script again, looking very upset. He sat down and began to lick his fur back into place with swift forceful strokes of his tongue. He stopped to glare at her once, then continued.

Tig! she cried, her hand on her heart – she was, after all, an actress – I’m sorry - don’t be upset!