As a small boy, I often wandered off into my own imagination. I built castles from cardboard and dreamed of being a knight on grand adventures. But I had never seen a real castle, until the day my grandparents suddenly took me along to see one with my own eyes.
Full of excitement, I ran toward the gate. The closer I got, the larger it grew. In the shadow of the entrance, a figure appeared, motionless and silver, fully armored from head to toe. I came to a sudden stop. For the first time in my life, I was face to face with a real knight.
For a few seconds, a heavy silence filled the air. Time seemed to slow down, my heart pounding in my ears. I quickly turned around and ran as fast as I could, out of its shadow, tears trailing in the dust, running away from reality.
So I started building again.
I decided to stay at the crossroad between these worlds, to build my own world in-between. One where I could keep my fantasy, where I could wander a little while longer.
This work comes from that in-between. It explores fantasy not as escape, but as a place to recover, where getting lost is how you find something new.