The Secret of the Magic String E-Book

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• Herausgeber: novum publishing
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 155

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2025

Beschreibung

Luca just wanted to apologize. While skating, he had bumped into a wheelchair user: Theodor Langhans, the director of the city museum, who suffers from osteogenesis imperfecta. But it doesn't stop at one visit. Theodor opens up a magical world for Luca. At each meeting, he has a story ready that takes them back to distant times and strings together colorful personalities as if on a string. What is Luca supposed to do with this? He has enough problems of his own—at school, at home, and at his sports club. Theo gently picks up on Luca's worries and reflects them back to him through past events. Until Luca takes matters into his own hands. But the secret of the magic string is only revealed at the end.

Leseprobe

Table of Contents

Imprint

Dedication

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Imprint

Any inconsistencies in the text are due to the fact that it was translated using computer-aided technology for a company-wide study.

© 2025 novum publishing gmbh

Rathausgasse 73, A-7311 Neckenmarkt

[email protected]

Dedication

My special thanks go to Dr. Nicolette Bohn,

without whose guidance and help this book

would never have been written.

Chapter 1

How it all began

THE day we ran over Theodor started out like any other day. But it ended in complete chaos. What a crazy world. And I had a feeling that more was about to happen. It was as if something mysterious was waiting for me.

We were rollerblading. Everything was as usual. My sister Lina was supposed to check if there were any people on the sidewalk. She held up two fingers and gave the green light. That meant it was totally empty. Then she nudged me in the side and shouted, "Go!" So it was a race. Lina shot off and I also took off at full speed. The trees on Ringallee flew past us like shadows. We were neck and neck, panting and puffing like racehorses. Neither of us was giving in. Then it happened. A bang. Total blackout—only slowly did the world reappear before me. All three of us were lying on the sidewalk. A wizened creature with wide, ink-blue eyes stared directly into my face. At first, I thought it was a hobbit. Lina was lying next to me, whimpering softly. All kinds of people were standing around us. An elderly woman held her hand over her mouth in shock. Voices—muffled and distant, as if I were underwater—reached my ears:

"Always driving around in those things. And on the sidewalk, no less..."

"As a pedestrian, you're constantly in mortal danger..."

"Kids – you can't do that..."

"This is unbelievable—the parents should be locked up..."

Then I saw the overturned vehicle. We had hit a man in a wheelchair! Lina was now sobbing loudly. She pulled her helmet off and shook her hair. My leg hurt. Luckily, I was wearing knee pads. Finally, those stupid things were good for something. A huge guy jerked the wheelchair back onto its wheels. When the helper reached for the accident victim, the injured shouted: “Careful, I have brittle bone disease. I'd better go to the hospital right away. And take care of the kids!" The giant nodded. He took out his smartphone and called the emergency services. "We didn't mean to, honestly," I heard Lina whimper. An older gentleman held her arm and spoke comfortingly to her. No one paid any attention to me. Typical. It's always the girls who get all the sympathy.

My beautiful day was ruined. Instead of sunshine, there was gloom. I had screwed up again! The ground beneath me gave way, like sinking into a swamp. Don't cry, I thought, feeling the tears welling up. I looked at the man in front of me. He didn't move. His left leg was bent strangely, blood dripping through his pants. I'm going to get a serious telling-off, I thought. But it didn't come. "A painful introduction – by thunder and lightning. My name is Theodor," said the injured man from, smiling reassuringly at me. "Theodor Langhans. I'm the director of the city museum."

At that moment, the siren sounded and an ambulance raced toward us. Immediately afterward, the blue lights of the police car flashed.

Chapter 2

Luca makes a decision

A few scrapes and scratches, but Lina and I were okay. However, we were still shaken. What would happen next? We heard the front door click and footsteps in the hallway. Mom was home. Before we could think of what to say, the police were already at the door. Our mother was completely taken aback. She bombarded us with questions. Then she turned to the two police officers. "How is the man who had the accident? Has he filed a report?" The police officers tried to calm the situation down. One of them explained that Mr. Langhans had broken his leg but was receiving medical attention. No, he didn't want to press charges. The man had expressly protected the children. He was such a weakling that even the wind would blow him over. "We're just making a report," added the second officer. "As soon as you've signed it, we'll close the case." In fact, it took barely half an hour for the police to leave.

"Well, you guys really did something. I don't know how I'm going to tell your father. He has enough trouble at work. Now see if you can sort this out. In any case, you have to apologize to the injured man." That was all Mom wanted to say. She left us standing there and went straight back to her desk. Lina had gone to practice the piano.

I needed to be alone too. In my room, there was a wall door that led to a small, empty chamber with a skylight. It was the best hiding place in the whole house. I lifted the little window with its metal frame, which was usually only used by the chimney sweep to climb onto the roof. I stared for a long time at the deep red leaves of a copper beech tree that stretched its crown between the sports field and our house. Then my gaze wandered in the other direction, where the houses of the southern suburbs lay. I loved this hiding place, which I called "my tree house."

Finally, I took out my console. Medieval games were my favorite. I also had lots of books about knights, weapons, and castles. But today I didn't enjoy them. I was plagued by guilt. I couldn't stop thinking about Mr. Langhans. I saw the small figure in front of me. The narrow face and thin arms formed a strange contrast to the bulging belly. And those eyes: ink blue where the whites should have been. Bulging, as if they wanted to jump out of their sockets. Of course, I knew the queasy feeling when I had messed something up again. But this time I felt particularly bad because it affected someone else. And I had never had anything to do with a disabled person before.

I brooded over it for a while. Finally, I pulled myself together. So, the man was disabled. He needed help, that was clear. A thought crossed my mind: Isn't it chivalrous to protect the weak? I'll offer him my help! I'll do something good for him and feel better about myself. That could be the way out. In the end, I might even come out looking good!

Chapter 3

An unexpected rejection

"HOLD, my friends! Can I see your tickets?" "We don't want to go to the museum," I said, holding up the bouquet of flowers I had spent my pocket money on. I could forget about the new add-on I had wanted to buy, but it was worth it. "We want to see Mr. Langhans," added Lina. "I see. So you're the rolling suburban hooligans," remarked the museum guard, putting on an I-know-everything face. "Well, come with me. I'll take you to him." Out of the corner of my eye, I saw stuffed animals and golden monstrances passing by. Gemstones, broken bowls, reenactments of battles, maps, and old books—everything was on display here.

The word "hooligans" made me feel queasy. But then the museum guard nodded at me and said casually, "It's no big deal. Mr. Langhans will be happy to see you. I'm sure you'll come to the museum more often from now on, right?" I nodded, even though I had no intention of showing up here every other day. I couldn't imagine a less cool way to spend my free time. I didn't have fond memories of the museum. We had been here once with my school class. Afterwards, there was a written test on historical dates, which I completely messed up. Mr. Endlich, our history teacher, had offered me a retake, but I had declined. It would have been pure hypocrisy, because I hate historical dates. And I couldn't stand Mr. Endlich either. Lina squeezed my hand. Stay calm, she wanted to tell me. She knew that I freaked out when people gave me good advice, adult wisdom, and stuff like that. The worst thing was when your own parents were teachers, like my mother. We had crossed the exhibition and reached the staircase. "So, the offices are on the second floor." The museum attendant took a bunch of keys out of his pocket, looked for the right one, and opened the door marked "Emergency Exit." As we climbed the stairs to the second floor together, that queasy feeling came back. How was I supposed to help the injured person? Wouldn't I have to come here more often? Finally, we were standing in his room.

"Good afternoon. So, we..." That was all I could say. I was completely flustered. At that moment, I couldn't even remember my own name. Sure, I had seen people in wheelchairs before. I knew there were people with disabilities. But that was rare. I had never given it much thought. This was a different world. It was like on TV—even the most outrageous things flashed across the screen without anyone caring. But what I was experiencing here was reality. Mr. Langhans turned to us and held out his hand encouragingly. "Aha, my killer skaters." Lina and I blushed. Fortunately, he didn't notice. "Sit down. You know my name is Theodor Langhans." Somewhat relieved, I muttered, "We want to apologize, Mr. Langhans." I pressed the bouquet into his hand. "That's nice of you. But—for heaven's sake—don't call me 'Mr. Langhans,' just call me Theodor. Besides, you don't need to worry about the accident. It's no big deal. It happens to me a lot because I have this glass bone disease." "Do you really have bones made of glass?" I asked. Lina giggled. "Don't worry... He's 13, not three. But he still asks stupid questions." I glared at Lina. "Well, he can't know that," laughed Theodor, turning his wheelchair toward us. "No, there's no such thing as glass bones. If there were, I'd have broken into a thousand pieces by now. That's just what my condition is called. Because my body can't form solid connective tissue, I often suffer from bone fractures and bleeding."

Lina had turned pale, looking first at me, then at the man in the wheelchair, who was not much taller than me, even shorter. He had a strange appearance. He was very small and gaunt. No wonder we had knocked him out on Ringallee. His face was framed by a black beard that merged seamlessly into his short hair. Like a ski mask. And on top of that, he wore a flat cap. His eyes were mega-cool. Not a speck of white. The eyeballs glowed deep blue and protruded far forward. They reminded me of the blue lights on police cars that could flash on at lightning speed. "So, what do you guys do when you're not knocking down strangers?" His strangely high voice confused me. "We... I..." "Just kidding," Theodor smiled. I had to swallow. Man, was he funny! He must have had a monopoly on humor. My gaze kept wandering back to the museum director. There were two other things that stood out. First, the suit. It wasn't fashionable to wear a suit with a matching waistcoat during the day. And it was tailored from tartan fabric, just like the flat cap. That's how an English private detective might dress, I thought to myself. The second thing was Theodor's open, cheerful demeanor. There was no sign of grief whatsoever.

Lina's answer snapped me out of my thoughts. "When Luca's not on the soccer field, he plays with his knights," I heard Lina say. "And I just won the state competition for young pianists and am now studying hard for the national competition."

"Hey... look at that." "Lina is the model child of the family and two years older than me," I said, glancing at Lina, who rolled her eyes. "You know, Luca... when I was your age, I would have liked to play soccer too." Why didn't you, I almost asked, but a warning glance from Lina stopped me at the last moment. Of course, she always knew everything better, I thought angrily. It was obviously because of his illness that he wasn't like other people. It must have been awful not to be able to play soccer, rollerblade, jump, or run wherever and however you wanted. And you probably didn't have any friends with an illness like that either. As if he had read my mind, I heard Theodor say: "When I was your age, the things you ride were called roller skates. I wasn't allowed to wear them. Everyone else whizzed past me. I just sat there and watched, an outsider. I buried myself in books. They allowed me to dream of faraway worlds and past events."

"And now you've turned your hobby into your profession, haven't you?" Lina cleared her throat. "But can you still dream here in the museum?" "Of course." Theodor was clearly pleased by her question. "We're just starting a new project. It's about early Portugal. You wouldn't believe how exciting it is. The more thoroughly you study the past, the closer you get to the secret of the magic string." "What is this magic string?" I wanted to know immediately. "Well, I'd rather keep that to myself," Mr. Langhans evaded. "If you blab about it, it's no longer a secret."

I was disappointed, even though he was right. His loneliness had certainly made him taciturn. I often didn't know who to talk to either, except maybe Lina. But even with her, I sometimes felt inhibited. She was the older of the two of us, always the smarter one. She spent most of her time at the piano anyway. No one else at home was interested in my problems. Dad was always in his office and Mom only looked at my grades—and they weren't great. Lina was the star in my parents' eyes. I was practically invisible.

"I don't find it very exciting to always be pushed aside." With that, I turned directly to Theodor, who suddenly didn't seem so strange to me anymore. Maybe now was the right time to reveal my plan. "Theodor, there's something else. I... I want to help you." He looked at me in surprise and pursed his lips as if he wanted to whistle. Then he took out a huge handkerchief, spread it out awkwardly, and blew his nose thoroughly. The handkerchief was red and white checkered like my grandmother's kitchen apron. I couldn't remember ever seeing anything like it before. Finally, he replied briefly, "I don't need any help."

I was shocked. "I meant well." Theodor didn't give me a proper explanation of what I had done wrong. Instead, he emphasized his rejection: "Your sister is right. I have found my strengths and made them my profession. I like my life." Once again, I was speechless. I hadn't expected this turn of events. Theodor's thoughts, his whole demeanor, fascinated me. Where did his strength come from?

Suddenly, our host broke the silence with a lanky movement. He turned to me:

"You can visit me if you like. I'd enjoy having company. Otherwise I'll gather dust myself here in my museum." The aloofness disappeared from his face and a smile returned. "The museum is closed on Mondays. But I'm always in my office on Monday afternoons."

I liked the suggestion. I had been overwhelmed by so many surprises and still had a lot of questions. I immediately agreed: "I'll definitely be back," I promised. We said goodbye with a firm handshake.

Chapter 4

Between two stools

I reached my room soaking wet. I pulled the anorak, which the rain had stuck to my shirt and undershirt, off my body. I threw the bundle into a corner. "Wet laundry in the bathroom, please!" my mother's voice rang in my head. But it was drowned out by an ugly whistling sound, then suddenly silence. Blackout...

It had happened. Lina had actually won the national competition! As a prize, she received a scholarship: a study trip to England. Yehudi Menuhin School or something like that. She would be living in a boarding school near London for four months. It dawned on me bitterly that I would have no one left when Lina was gone. I couldn't count on my parents, and I didn't even want to think about school. I would be caught between two stools. My whole body shook. A hot bubble swirled inside me and burst.

Finally, I put on some dry clothes. A moon face grinned back at me from the mirror. The smooth forehead that spread out forever until it reached the hairline. Boringly monotonous. If only I had a birthmark like Gorbachev. I banished this false image. In my dreams, I looked completely different, equal to all the boys. What was wrong with me? Overall, I couldn't cope anymore. Sometimes I was hyper and bursting with energy, the next moment I didn't feel like doing anything.

And what about love? Was I behind because I didn't have a girlfriend yet, damn it? Sometimes my mom looked at me funny. With that look that said, "Well, are you in love yet? Is there something I need to know?" That was all. Mom and Dad always skillfully avoided the subject.