Today, aged 52, I’m going to my first comic con. To say I’m a tad nervous is an understatement. Primarily we are going to promote my husband’s business and to network with other likeminded geeky types. But I didn’t want to miss an opportunity to dress up! However I didn’t want to dress up as an existing character. I wanted to create and be my own character. So I have put together her backstory; a classic tale of good overcoming adversity. Enjoy.

All About Angel

 

Angel was an only child. Her parents doted on her and she was blissfully happy as a small girl. She wanted for nothing. Like many girls she loved the colour pink, and her parents had lavishly decorated her bedroom to reflect this. She had a pink chandelier, opulent pink wallpaper and curtains, and a giant fluffy pink unicorn that resided on her bed. She slept under a canopy of pink voile. Angel shouldn’t have had a care in the world. But at school she felt different from the other children. She found her peers noisy and boisterous. She preferred her own company. She loved to read, devouring book after book and she loved to make up stories. Academically she was a high achiever, but at times her teachers would have to remind her to focus on her work, as she’d be so engrossed in her daydreaming. There was no doubting Angel had a vivid imagination but sometimes she seemed to lose herself completely.

Despite finding it hard to make friends, Angel wasn’t unhappy. She adored her pets; Alice and Tiffy her cats, Bun-Bun her rabbit and Oliver and Harry her goldfish. Oliver and Harry were named after the two boys in her class at school who weren’t mean to her. Though she never told her parents that. They were happy at home and that was all that mattered.

That was, until, one bleak November day, Mummy never came to pick up Angel from school. In fact, Mummy had told Angel that Daddy was finishing work early so they could pick her up together and go out for hot chocolate. Instead Angel waited in the school playground until all the other children had gone and still there was no sign of Mummy and Daddy. Her teacher took her back inside and let Angel choose a book to read while admin staff tried in vain to contact her parents.

As time went on, Angel became increasingly distraught and eventually she saw Grandma coming down the corridor. With a policewoman! Grandma had been crying. Grandma never cries. Now Angel knew for sure something bad had happened. She ran, throwing her arms around Grandma, sobbing uncontrollably.

Angel never got over the death of her parents when she was 11 years old. She went to live with Grandma, but she couldn’t take her kitties or Bun-Bun. Even Oliver and Harry didn’t last long, it seemed the move was too much for them. Angel was devastated. Her parents were dead, she’d lost her cats, her rabbit and now even her goldfish. She constantly went over her parents’ death in her mind. She felt it must be her fault because they wouldn’t have both been in the car together at that time if Daddy hadn’t been coming specially to meet her from school. It tortured her. Night after night she sobbed into her giant pink unicorn. For a time, Angel never uttered a word to anyone, not even Grandma. When the pain became unbearable, she retreated into silence. And her imagination.

As Angel grew up, Grandma was not in great health. And Angel’s behaviour deteriorated. She no longer ignored the school bullies. She got into fights. She was bereft and angry and she didn’t care who she lashed out at.

One day after school a social worker came to Grandma’s flat and told Angel to pack her things. Angel was devastated, begging Grandma to let her stay, but unknown to Angel, everything had already been decided. The social worker sniffed disapprovingly at the giant fluffy pink unicorn. It was more grey, balding and misshapen these days, but it was one of Angel’s few links to her parents.

As the social worker drove Angel to her foster home, Angel sobbed and sobbed.

From that time on, she didn’t wear pink again. In fact she only wore black. Although her foster parents were kind, Angel never felt she fitted in. She wasn’t even angry anymore, just broken. Desolate. And when things were at their worst, she became mute again.

As a young adult, Angel was a high achiever in her chosen career, but was prone to periods of depression. She also was sexually promiscuous as she sought to fill the loneliness in her heart. She seemed to attract unscrupulous men who took advantage of her vulnerability. She identifies two clear aspects to her personality, the soft, dreamy, creative, pink-loving Angel, and the darker, sassier, kick ass Angel. As time has gone on, Angel has finally reached a more contented place in her life. She’s in a loving relationship, has accepted her quirky traits and is coming to terms with her childhood trauma. She embraces her soft and harder sides. However there are times when she still struggles with social interaction and on occasions regresses to childlike behaviour or even muteness. She still enjoys creative writing, loves kitties, unicorns, taking photographs, and everything pink. Her preference is to dress in all pink, as it reminds her of her blissful early childhood and she even has pink hair and a pink tattoo on her arm. She has recreated a grown-up version of the pink bedroom she had as a little girl, which is known as The Pink Palace. But most importantly, she is happy once more.

Wish me luck!