Hi, Eva!

1
Hi, Eva!
You don't know me. But my name is Kim, and i live
on the other side of the world. Your Grandma
calls me 'The Pirate'! Arrrr! Don't be afraid.
I'm not a real pirate. Really!
2
I'm not very good at writing letters - and my
owl is a bit old for long trips
anyway. So, i have to use my computer
instead. Well, that might be better. My
handwriting is horrible!
3
Your Grandma has asked me, and some of her other
friends, to send a picture, so you can see what
we look like. And perhaps tell you a story. The
story is a bit strange. And perhaps not really a
story at all. It is about magic, books,
friends, a family... and a small, very sick
little girl. I don't really know where to start.
4
Well - what your Grandma (i call her Dayna)
really wanted, was just a picture. So... this is
what i look like
5
And where does the story start? I guess it all
started with this lady. She's called Joanne
Rowling. She was very poor, but then she
thought of a good story....
6
...and then she wrote a book. This one
7
It was a very good book. Your Grandma liked it, i
liked it - a lot of people from all over the
world liked it. So, Jo Rowling wrote six more
books. I think she got rich.
8
...Actually, it ended up with nine... But these 3
are really small.
9
The books are about a boy, Harry. Harry
Potter. He thinks himself that he is pretty
normal, but one day he finds out he's a
wizard. This is Harry- and his friends Ron and
Hermione
10
They go to a school for witches and wizards -
it's called Hogwarts. It's an old castle in
Scotland.
11
While they go to school, they have to learn - but
also to fight monsters, solve riddles - and to
defeat a very, very evil wizard.
12
Harry has survived many attacks from the evil
wizard and his followers. So, in the end, he's
known as The boy who lived.
It is sometimes a bit scary. But your Grandma
will tell you all about Harry, his friends and
all his adventures.
13
So, a lot of people liked the books. They were
made into films. And your grandma, me, and a
lot of other people would meet on a website
called The Leaky Lounge and write to each other
about the books and films. And because we kept
writing, we became friends and talked about
everything else, too.
14
Someone called MomWeasley would write from
Arizona in the U.S.A. and tell us about her
tiny Abraxan Miniature horses.
(They really like to play!)
15
RosieW would write from Yorkshire in England,
and tell us that her cat kept catching frogs -
and bring them into the house!
He is a very naughty cat. But he doesen't really
care.
16
I would write about my house here in Sonderborg,
Denmark. That's on the other side of the Earth.
I think i already wrote that.
17
I also have a garden. It's very messy. But there
is lots of birds and hedgehogs, and sometimes
there is a fox...
18
I would also write about my family. Here we are.
It's Jenny (my wife), me, Margaret (my daughter),
Alun (my son-in-law) and Jon (my son). We all do
all we can to look normal... It's from Margo and
Al's wedding.
19
I would also boast a lot about sailing. I sailed
a lot with somebody called Greenpeace...
20
...And now i'm a skipper myself. On a viking
ship. Really!
Her name is Sebbe Als, by the way...
21
I have a normal job too. I make electronics for
solar panels. That is so the electricity in your
wall socket comes from the sun itself. That's a
good thing for the environment.
22
Now, what was the story all about? Well, one
day, when we all talked about Harry Potter
and other things, your Grandma was very proud to
tell us... that she was going to be a
Grandma! Your Mum and Dad would have a baby -
that's you, Eva. Grandma was very, very proud
and happy. And all the rest of us were happy as
well. So we wrote 'Congratulations! and 'Hooray'
and 'Good luck' to your Grandma.
23
But, quite some time before you were born,
something went wrong. While visiting somebody
far away from home, your Mom's tummy started to
hurt. And she had to go to the hospital.
I haven't a picture, so this one is of our
hospital here.
24
Your Grandma wrote and told the rest of us about
it. She was very scared. We became scared too.
This was very serious. We knew how important you
were to your Mom, Dad, Grandma and all the rest
of your family.
25
Things went worse. You were born - but much too
early. Babies have to stay in their Mom's
tummies for nine months, before they are
ready. You were not ready you were very, very
small. It was not your fault, or your Mom's, or
anybodys. Sometimes that just happens. And
nobody can do anything about it.
26
You and your Mom had to stay in hospital. And
because you was so small, a lot of doctors and
nurses had to look after you, all the
time. You were even smaller than the baby
on this picture. Your Grandma showed us some
pictures she took.
27
Your grandma was very scared now. She was afraid
of losing you. We tried to comfort her. It was
very difficult. We were all so far away - all
over the Earth.
28
Because we all were so far away, the only thing
we could do, was to pray for you. When somebody
prays, they talk to God. People pray for many
reasons. Sometimes they ask God to do them a
favor. We all asked God for a favor we asked
him to save the life of a very small, newborn
girl. That little girl had become very important
to all of us. Because we knew how important she
was to all her family.
29
People pray in different ways. Christians
usually go to a Church. They take their hats off
and kneel down, facing the altar to show respect
for God.
This is the church where i was christened. It's
very old.
30
Jewish people usually pray in a Synagoge. Usually
they stand up, and cover their heads, to show
respect for God.
31
Muslims often go to a Mosque to pray. They kneel
down on a special small blanket, and face the
city Mecca. Just to show respect for God.
32
Some people just stay home, or in the office, or
where ever they are, when they pray. It doesen't
really matter. God is everywhere.
This boy prays in his bedroom. I don't really
think the dog knows what he's doing, but he's a
good dog and tries to help.
33
Some people pray in different ways. And some,
like me, find it very difficult to do. I usually
go for a long walk in our forest, and think very
hard over the problem. In a way, that's also a
kind of praying.
34
It is not always when people pray for something,
that they get what they want. Sometimes, God
thinks it's not good what people want. And
sometimes bad things happen, and even if people
pray to make these things go away, God lets them
happen anyway. Because there is some meaning
with them. Even if we can't see it.
35
But this time, God gave us what we asked for. He
helped you to stay alive. You got help from some
really good doctors and nurses, but if God
decides to call somebody home to Heaven, they
can't do anything. This is not your
doctors and nurses i don't have a picture of
them either. But like these, they are all nice.
36
It took a very long time before your Mom and Dad
could bring you home from the hospital. Your
Grandma told us all about it, and showed us some
more pictures of you. She was very, very
happy. We were very happy too. God had given us
all a very large gift he gave us you.
37
Well, now you are a big girl. And now you know
why some people all over the world know your
name. Because of good will and prayers, books
and your Grandma. I have never met you, or your
Grandma. And i probably never will. But i feel
that i know you, just a little bit - as The Girl
who Lived. Have a good life, Eva - Kim
The_Pirate