Lost in Translation (Open)

The sun shone bright on the large amusement park.  It must have been around noon.  The temperature was a little chilly, but it was nothing a small jacket couldn’t warm up.  The wind was blowing a slight breeze and all around the amusement park leaves of orange and yellow would stir and slide across the pavement.  It was a pretty nice day, but for Chris, it was one of the worst days of his life.  He had just arrived in the Azores Region due to circumstances he didn’t really want to think about.  In order to escape the thoughts, he decided to go to Galaxy Theme Park.

The park was fun and the rides were exciting, but not even the thrill of roller coasters could erase the somber memories that raced through Chris’s brain.  Chris found himself getting lost in thought, which led him to miss many of the exciting things about the park.  Maybe this place was just an escape for Chris.  After all, he was alone in a foreign land and didn’t speak the native language very well.  He could read English, but when he heard it spoken or had to put the words together coherently, he failed every time.  Despite the packed crowd of tourists, Chris felt himself isolated.  He would have much rather been practicing football or wrestling, but he didn’t know where he would even find such activities taking place.  Instead, he found himself walking in an overcrowded tourist trap, alone.

Chris, trying to zone out his own thoughts, watched passersby as he walked through the park.  He would stop sometimes to chuckle at the habits and actions of others but would continue walking shortly after.  One person had lost their hat.  It was blown right off their head and into the wind.  The woman, prior to losing the hat, had had an expression of constant disapproval.  She seemed like a real joy to be around.  After losing the hat, her look changed to horror.  She chased after the hat but to no avail.  Chris had watched the act to completion, upon which the hat settled nicely in the middle of a pond.  Chris had amused himself and most importantly he had forgotten about his problems.

Chris continued to walk and after a while, he heard the shrieks of a child.  Chris had heard children crying all day.  Most of them were the spoiled type who just wanted a toy from the vendors, but this one sounded different.  In this voice, Chris heard a tone of desperation.  Chris immediately attempted to locate the source.  Finding his gaze was a small girl that was collapsed to the ground and crying.  He rebuked this at first, but Chris, realizing that she wasn’t just another kid after a toy, became concerned.  Chris found it shocking how easily everyone had just passed the girl up.  They were all too infatuated with their own lives to help an obviously distraught child.  Chris decided that he would help this little girl.

As Chris walked up to the girl he asked her what was wrong.  She stepped away from him in fear and confusion.  Chris was surprised and worried.  Chris asked her again, but as soon as the words spilled from his mouth he remembered that he was speaking Swedish.  Chris racked his brain for the words that he was trying to communicate, but what came out was something no one would have understood.  He tried again, and this time his words were somewhat recognizable “Who are wrong with you?”  The girl, still crying, stared at him.  The girl thought for a moment about what was said. After finally understanding, she managed to spit out between sobs “I can’t find Mummy and Daddy.”

Chris was at a loss.  He had no clue what she had said.  It was hard enough to understand her words because of the speed at which they were said; adding in the sobs and the childish voice made comprehension impossible for Chris.  Chris looked around desperately.  He knew that he wouldn’t be able to help this girl alone and tried looking for a reliable person to help him translate.

Child:

Weakness: