I’m waiting on the roof. Where is he? I’ve been waiting here for hours.

He first appeared to me in my bedroom. I was sleeping. He kissed me and I woke. He told me that he was a Turkish god. He certainly looked the part!

He told wonderful stories. He told me that my eyes were dark lakes in which my thoughts swam like mermaids. Tonight, he dazzled my parents with fireworks, flying around in the sky in his magic trunk. Everyone had stars in their eyes.

But where is he? I’ve been waiting here for hours!

Turkish Princess in The Flying Trunk, Hans Christian Andersen. Illustration by John Martin Szancer.