The third Festival of children’s creativity „Umetnik iz školske klupe” (Artist in the Classroom) was organized by the Ministry of Culture and Information of the Republic of Serbia, and the City of Leskovac. Contestants had the opportunity to present their original literary achievements, videos and artworks. The competition was stiff, but the expert jury managed to single out the most successful works and declare the winners, among whom was a Year 6 student of Elementary School Savremena – Maša Pašić.

Elementary School Savremena is considered to be a truly different school, because great attention is paid to each student’s talent, from acting, sports, music, to dance and writing. Maša’s achievement proves how important it is for a child to grow up in a supporting environment that allows them to develop their talent.

We are glad that the jury of the third Festival of children’s creativity „Umetnik iz školske klupe” (Artist in the Classroom) has recognized Maša’s talent and affinity for writing. Well done, Maša! We are proud of your success. Congratulations on winning second place! It was totally deserved.

WE PRESENT MAŠA’S WINNING STORY ON THE WINGS OF HAPPINESS

She laughed joyfully. She couldn’t believe what she had just done. “I did it!”, she whispered excitedly. Her throat felt very tight. She finally managed to escape and see the outside world. But, the world was nothing like the fairytales her mother told her every night. It was not as tame, nor as bright as her mother so skillfully described. And then she understood. She finally realized how bitter and dark the world she lived in actually was. She looked up into a dark cloud looming overhead. In disbelief, she started running. “Victoria, wait!”, a familiar voice was shouting in the distance. But, no. She did not want to wait. She ran for miles, as cold tears streamed down her pale face. Her legs were giving out, but she still kept on running. She was in shock. There was fear and darkness in her eyes. She had seen something forbidden, and she finally realized it. She stopped, seeing that she had finally reached the forest. But, did she really escape?

She stepped slowly into the woods, struggling with thorns. She heard magpies flying in the distance. When she finally got rid of the nasty bushes, she slipped. She felt her leg bleed, and tried to stop the blood. The leg, meanwhile, went numb, but she tried to stand up nonetheless. She slowly rose from the ground and began to walk. She limped until she reached the river, and then she fell. She crawled to the water, hoping to wash away the blood. When she did it, she looked at her reflection on the surface. She couldn’t take it anymore. She started screaming. It was no ordinary scream. There was pain, fear and sadness in it. Disbelief. Desire to disappear from this world. She saw the dark cloud reappear overhead. Suddenly, the river turned gray. The sun disappeared, hidden by the cold cloud that had taken its place. The birds flew away from the forest in fright, and the deer ran swiftly. And she just sat there by the river, crying in anguish. She finally understood the meaning of life. We all live to die.

“You are unhappy, Victoria. I can feel it…so, let me help you”, an unknown voice spoke. The voice was mysterious, and cold. It wasn’t safe, she could feel it. Suddenly, a black hand reached down from the dark cloud. The hand was cautious, but it was obvious that it was in a hurry. It tried to grab Victoria. Victoria held out her hand, pulling it away at the last moment. She pushed away the dark hand, and the mysterious voice spoke again. “You’ve made a big mistake, Victoria…you’ll realize it soon”, hissed the voice deeply. The black cloud rammed into Victoria, drowning her. She exhaled sharply, falling onto the rocks. She rubbed her eyes, stunned. She looked down into her wound, and realized that all of it was real. She wanted to cry. Tears were falling on her wound, which was now completely flooded by cold, salty tears. When she finally calmed down, she went to the lake again. She looked at her reflection, seeing that her wounded leg was turning black. She looked closer. “I told you you would regret it, Victoria. No point in resisting. Whatever you do, the darkness will always be victorious. This is the end, Victoria”, the voice whispered.

Terrified, Victoria knelt by the river in disbelief. She squeezed her hand, with an expression of incredulity in her eyes the color of a restless ocean. The leg was turning to ashes, and the ashes soon fell on the rocks. She began to tremble, realizing what was happening. Her arm also turned to ashes. She was kneeling helplessly on the uncomfortable rocky bank, watching her reflection. She touched her forehead using the hand that still hadn’t completely turned to black ashes. “No”, she spoke tremulously. “We may all be born to die, but that’s not the meaning of life. Darkness and misery will never win. We may have lost our loved ones, and we may have lost hope, but I will never give up. Yes, all this is bitter. It’s unfair. But, there will always be a shred of happiness for those who seek light. HAPPINESS SHALL BE GIVEN TO THOSE WHO SEEK IT! I will never give up. I want to have hope. I want to fly on the wings of happiness. Darkness can never grant us that, is that not so? It will only hinder us. So, I may be dying, but I’m dying willingly. Can you hear me? I AM WILLING TO SACRIFICE MYSELF FOR OTHERS!”, she shouted.

A strong wind began to blow. Suddenly, Victoria’s face began to crumble into ashes. But, in place of black ash, there was golden dust flying over the river. Victoria laughed. Tears streamed down the side of her face that still hadn’t turned to ash. Suddenly, a cloud of darkness left Victoria, turning into magnificent gold dust and covering the rocks. Her other arm disappeared. Her hair turned to dust, but Victoria kept laughing. Everything disappeared, except her mouth. It still laughed, and whispered: “I did it…”. Then the mouth disappeared as well, but the laughter still echoed by the river.

The wind grew stronger. It scattered gold dust all over the forest. The laughter still echoed, and the entire forest was soon covered with magnificent gold dust.

Years later, a mother and daughter were walking through the forest which was now covered with golden blossoms. “Mom, why are we here?”, asked the girl. ‘You see, my love, a hundred years ago, there was a girl in this forest. But, sorrow and misery ruled the world back then. The girl was shielded from darkness, her parents wanted to hide her from that awful world. They did not want Victoria to find out that there was darkness in the world. But, Victoria was curious. One day, she slipped away from her hiding place. Darkness, fear and misery everywhere! All happiness had disappeared from the world. She came into this forest hoping to hide from the darkness. But, it was already here”, her mother explained, pointing to the forest. They kept walking. They passed the thorny bushes where the legendary girls fought for her life. They reached the river, where a monument was erected.

The monument had Victoria’s face. One side of its face was solid, while the other was nothing but dust. The magnificent golden letters on the monument read: “I want to live in freedom and light. I want to fly on the wings of happiness – Goddess of Happiness”. The girl looked at the monument. “Is that the girl, mom? What happened next?, she asked curiously, her eyes wide with excitement. “Yes, love, that’s the girl. She came down to the river and stopped there. Darkness destroyed her. Victoria began to rot, turning into black ashes. But, my dear, Victoria was not weak. She fought the darkness. She forced the world to see that there are things worth fighting for. Hope and happiness. The black ash then turned into gold dust and scattered all over the forest. That is why there are golden flowers here now, which blossomed from her dust. Those flowers are magical.

I will return to your question from before, love. We are here today to put some flowers on this monument. We are here for this golden girl. She is the Goddess of Happiness. Pass me the bouquet, love”, the mother asked. The daughter carefully handed her the bouquet she held in one hand. The woman took it, placing it next to the monument. “Thank you, Goddess of Happiness. Without your sacrifice, the world we know would not exist. You would be so proud to see this. So much joy! The world is now full of hope, thanks to you. Thank you! The girl stared at the river and the beautiful horizon that stretched in front of her eyes. “Mom, was the sky so blue back in the days of the Goddess?”, she asked, throwing pebbles into the river. “No, dear. Unfortunately, the sky was as black as the deepest night back then”, the mother explained. “Thank you, Goddess of Happiness. I cannot imagine life without a blue sky”, whispered the girl. Then she looked up at the sky. It was a sunny day. There was no wind, and the birds were happily flying around. A few minutes later, the mother got up from the stone and said: “Let’s go, love. It will be dark soon.” But, the daughter heard playful laughter. “Ha-ha-ha!”, it echoed down the river. “Mom, what was that?”, asked the girl nervously. “What was what, love?”, said the mother. “It’s as if I had heard laughter…”, she replied in surprise. “Maybe you have heard the Goddess laughing! You see, the legend says that all parts of the Goddess’s body turned into dust, except her mouth. Her mouth began to laugh. Eventually, it also turned to dust, but the laughter remained forever here by the river. The legend says that only those who listen closely can hear the Goddess of Happiness laughing cheerfully by the river.

You know, even though many think it’s just nonsense, I believe it’s true! Those who listen closely will hear the brave girl laughing by the river…let us go now. We don’t want to get caught in the dark, although the golden flowers would show us the way out of the forest…”, added the mother, smiling. “We really are on the wings of happiness, thanks to the Goddess”. The girl ran to her mother, and together, they slowly moved away from the river, leaving the echoes of playful laughter behind.