About Jenny's quest for her place underneath the sun.

January the 2nd 2014. The first day in a new life as a result of the decision to see the sun and avoid the dark. All I had to do to make a positive contribution to the day was listening to a story that morning.

The night turned dark. Accustomed to lampposts, white stripes and reflective bollards, she drove confidently away in her right-controlled Mini. For the first time alone, finally. Jenny decided to get a life for herself, a future with making her own choices. At the first intersection she confidently chose to turn right, towards the south, towards freedom. The street was narrow and the treetops high above the road surface formed an arch of leaves, which made it almost impossible for the moonlight to lighten up the street.

While concentrating at the, headlights illuminated, road of cobblestones and little parts of asphalt , she tried to justify her decision to leave. She was just thinking about all the frustrations that came with being forced to live in a foreign country. Two years after she emigrated, against her will, with her parents to a small village in the rural heart of Portugal, time had come to start her own quest for happiness. Her, last week granted, drivers license and the, imported Liverpool, Mini that she affectionately maintained and cleaned over the last two years, were her only possessions. Never again would she conform to other people's decisions, not even those of her parents.

Her parents had worked among industrial smoke in an increasingly degenerating working-class neighborhood. For them it was the ultimate dream, living in a small village, away from the sickening conditions and underpaid work in a slaughterhouse. Jenny went to school, Jenny had friends, Jenny wanted nice clothes, Jenny had some fun on the weekends. The life of her parents was all about Jenny's happiness. In retrospect, it became clear what her parents had done for her and how hard they worked to make their daughters life as pleasant as possible. The arguments about school performance, scolding when coming home hours after the agreed time and the cryings of her mother when her drunk father cursed the world, didn't seem to be of any importance as a teenager. While in the distance the lights of an oncoming vehicle loomed, Jenny realized that her parents had only taken one decision in their lives for themselves, emigrating to another country, searching for a different way of life. No, it was not Jenny's choice. No friends, no nightlife and school hadn't been successful. The Portuguese language was very challenging and the lack of free time, because she occasionally had to help on the farm that her parents bought, felt like a punishment. Again and again she had entered the discussion why her parents' chose this life, in which they had to work harder and earn much less than in the past, and why it made them happier. Her parents made a choice at the moment in their lives when an opportunity presented itself, and opted for the unknown path.

Jenny decided again to turn right, not because of any rational reason, but simply because this exit brought her to a paved road. After half an hour of concentrated staring at the road, the first street lights loomed in the distance. The views on the Zêzere river looked familiar to. Jenny stopped on the high bridge that connects the two mountains together and where the the river flows towards the Tagus. She convinced herself that the tears came through the stiff wind that blew in her face. Back behind the wheel again, Jenny decided to turn right and follow the river. She would prove that she could take care of herself and a find a job in some bar or restaurant down in the Algarve, save money and, if she had enough for a ticket, go back to Liverpool, back to her friends and her former life.

Her left arm was warm from the bright sun rays at dawn that penetrated into the small car. At every turn left the bright light reflected on the lovingly polished bonnet. The low level of the shining copper circle in the sky made the folded down sun visors useless. Perhaps it was the heat, maybe the disappearance of the dark and eventually her own thoughts sorted by the midnight ride, who forced her to take a right turn at a crossing in the picturesque village of Martinchel. At some point she found herself on the dam of Castelo do Bode, just ten minutes from Tomar, the city where she went to school until recently. After the long ride in the dark, her concentration showed to be desired and Jenny decided to stop at an early opened cafe. She ordered a galão and a croissant and sat at a table facing the TV ever-present in such establishment. She started a conversation with an elderly immigrant, who happened to drink his abatanado there every weekday morning. It turned into a monologue full of reflection. She found a sympathetic ear and the stranger wordlessly confirmed her conclusions. Saddled with a kind of secret confession he gave his business card with the remark that she could always call or visit him when she thought she would need it.

It must have been around nine when an e-mail appeared in the Gmail window.

Jenny had parked the car and closed the door with just a click. With some fresh eggs from the chicken coop where she walked along towards the back door, she entered the house. Her parents were sitting at kitchen table and looked surprised. They thought she was still in bed. No, Jenny was up early, had fed the chickens and actually wanted to surprise her parents with fresh croissants for breakfast. It will be a tough day for her after a night of pondering, but the strange quest in the dark will probably help her with finding her place under the sun.