The Girl Who Didn't Know What To Believe

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seemed so unreal and separate from this warm buzzy city life of ordinary people doing ordinary things. As she sat on the bus back to Dora’s flat, Meritxell flicked through the black and white newspaper, and smiled at the thought that maybe it wasn’t all the smoking that had made him grey, but, like a chameleon, he’d taken on the colour of the work that he was so passionate about. She looked at the headings and the pictures, and she thought about what all the stories meant, and why these had squeezed out the thousands of other stories that could have been chosen. And while she was reading it, she could not stop thinking that she still had no idea if these lucky stories that had forced their way in, were the most important ones, or even if they were true. If newspapers were printing what they thought people wanted to read, and people believed that what they read must be important and true because it was in newspapers, then it all seemed to go round and round. It felt like when Hume suddenly saw his tail out of the corner of his eye, and he would spin like a mad black hairy top trying to catch it in his mouth, until he became exhausted, or tripped and fell over and did a sort of somersault that brought him to his senses. She felt completely let down at finding how different the newspaper was from what she had expected, and quite exhausted at the effort of trying to find something she could trust, something she could hold on to. As she lay in bed later that evening, trying to sleep, Meritxell found it hard to stop thinking, not just about Peter and the newspaper, but about everything else that had happened that week. People’s faces, the things they’d said, and the way they’d made her feel, drifted through her head 68
and mixed together. Commander Bloomfield, who believed things because he’d seen them or trusted people he knew. Eva and Hillary, who believed in science, and in what they didn’t know, which was hard to understand and must be a very odd way to live. The Turtle man who believed science was saying the world was in danger, the man in the suit who thought that science would save them, and the fisherman who didn’t seem to have much faith in what anyone was doing. Sofia who believed her nutritionist and said that science couldn’t answer every question, and Mister Brown who seemed to think that we were just thinking too much! And then Peter and the journalists who were supposed to be finding out the truth, but were overwhelmed and having to write what people wanted instead. Meritxell was looking for something. She wasn’t quite sure what it was and what it looked like, and was starting to worry how she’d know when she found it. The air was cold, and all around her stretching into the distance there were tall fir trees. Above her head a moon lit her way, but her feet seemed to know where they were going anyway. It was as if she were a passenger and they were taking her deeper and deeper into the dark forest, whether she wanted to or not. The moon was becoming fainter, and she became aware that she was surrounded by murmuring voices, as if all the trees were telling her something. Then the earth beneath her feet started to soften. Before she knew it, she had sunk up to her ankles. She started to try to run, but the more she tried the heavier her feet became. She sank further into what she thought must be quicksand, and as it came up to her chest, pressing in so she could hardly breathe, she realised the voices had all become laughter. A scream of panic rose inside her throat. Then she heard a different noise and she was shaking. 69
Page 1:
THE GIRL WHO DIDN’T KNOW WHAT TO
Page 4 and 5:
Introducing Meritxell
Page 6 and 7:
she wanted herself. Imagine if ever
Page 8 and 9:
hard you could imagine their heads
Page 10 and 11:
Sunday Meritxell’s world turns up
Page 12 and 13:
as she did, he took a breath and sa
Page 14 and 15:
gether on Saturday mornings after d
Page 16 and 17:
Monday Meritxell feels lost in spac
Page 18 and 19: “Hume, I think you are the only p
Page 20 and 21: not supposed to ask anything, only
Page 22 and 23: they talked about space missions, w
Page 24 and 25: y fairies, and she had watched a ne
Page 26 and 27: dered. Just as she believed she’d
Page 28 and 29: Tuesday Meritxell meets some scient
Page 30 and 31: in general, and Mothers in particul
Page 32 and 33: lent until then, but just as watchf
Page 34 and 35: thinking everything was made partly
Page 36 and 37: met in a long time. The fields soon
Page 38 and 39: Wednesday Meritxell and global warm
Page 40 and 41: lot you have to think about!”, an
Page 42 and 43: said, “Don’t you watch the news
Page 44 and 45: lly dangerous work, and that means
Page 46 and 47: After tea, Meritxell took Hume for
Page 48 and 49: when they’re the right age, they
Page 50 and 51: Thursday Meritxell discovers superf
Page 52 and 53: the solution lay in changing what s
Page 54 and 55: fruit are excellent. If you want en
Page 56 and 57: The colours, the shapes, the textur
Page 58 and 59: Friday Meritxell and the media 58
Page 60 and 61: and told her she was really really
Page 62 and 63: ght, journalists have the key to th
Page 64 and 65: do any sport. Actually, I can’t.
Page 66 and 67: says a journalist should do. But do
Page 70 and 71: The grip of the earth was becoming
Page 72 and 73: Saturday Meritxell goes back home 7
Page 74 and 75: getting used to her questions, and
Page 76 and 77: all believed different things, and
Page 78 and 79: sounds as if you were fine, with cl
Page 80: 80
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