"Lou!" His mother smiled happily as he slowly entered the main room of the small house. This served as a dining room, kitchen, and laundry room. Only for sleeping they had individual, small chambers, as well as a tiny plum toilet, in a room no bigger than a cupboard. "Happy Birthday!"

To Lou, the room just looked brown. Brown, with the blurred bodies of his family, dressed in brown as well. He could hardly distinguish them from the walls or the low kneeling table.

"Six years! You and Louise are getting older way too fast!" His father briefly scurried through his light hair. "Sit down and eat." Lou recognized the rough fabric of the linen shirt his father was wearing. The face remained blurry. It was too far away. Nodding, Lou sat down and waited for someone to give him his breakfast. He could hardly make it out either, and Louise grumbled when he accidentally reached into the food. This spoiled her appetite. His twin sister was very sensitive in this regard. Therefore, he waited. For her sake.

"So it's Lou's birthday too! I thought it was a joke!" Nina looked at her parents, perplexed. "Then why do we only celebrate Louise's birthday? Is Lou getting a gift too?"

"Nina! Lou and Louise are twins. You know that. Of course, it's their birthday on the same day! Eat fast so we can prepare for the celebration! A few of our neighbors are coming,", his mother dodged the question.

"Mom!" Nina protested immediately. "What about Lou?"

"I'm not celebrating", he finally replied. Someone put a bowl of porridge in front of him. Louise. "Only Louise celebrates. If I were to celebrate, no guests would come. And that would be mean." Nina pouted. "That's stupid." She looked at her father in alarm. "But we're celebrating my birthday, aren't we? And guests are coming?"

He nodded. "Of course, my darling. We will celebrate your birthday."

"Good." Nina nodded contentedly.

After breakfast, Lou went back to his room. He climbed onto his bed and looked out his tiny window. Lou heard his sisters laughing. And he heard Louise squeal blissfully when she got her birthday present. His parents waited until Lou was no longer in the room. Sighing, he imagined how all the bright colors of the desert painted pictures just for him and so he watched the play of colors while his family happily cleaned the house, had fun together, and greeted the first guests around noon.

He heard them singing and chatting. He would love to be down there. But the people in the city feared him. Therefore, Lou always stayed in his room when guests were there. Here, alone, there was nothing that could accidentally make him laugh or smile. He did not want to bring any misfortune to the guests or his family. He was not allowed to smile. Never. When he was very young, he was punished for every twitch of the corners of his mouth until Lou understood. Smiling was no good. Not for him.

There was a knock on his door. "Lou?"

"Dad?" He turned and stared at his father's play of colors. "Is everything okay?"

"May I sit with you?"

"Yes. Why?" Lou held on to the window while his bed creaked and wobbled as his father sat down.

"I want to spend some time with my son, who turned six today. And I'll bring you your lunch!"

"Oh!" Immediately, Lou sat down next to his father. His stomach was already growling. He could vaguely make out a bowl with bread, yogurt, and tomatoes that his father was holding out to him. Lou then held the plate very close to his face to take a close look at everything. Herbs were in the yogurt. The bread smelled like garlic. "Yummy! That must have been expensive!"

"Doesn’t it? And in the evening there is the promised soup. We've been putting money aside for a long time to afford this feast!" His father gently stroked his back. Lou liked this very much. He didn't get much more affection from his parents. They were afraid of accidentally making him laugh. What if his curse spread to the rest of the family? On Louise, who had a good future ahead of her. "And we have a little gift for you, too."

"A gift?" Lou put the bowl on his lap and broke off some bread to dip it into the yogurt. "What is it?"

"A new tunic. The fabric is embroidered with turquoise yarn. You like turquoise right? You can look at it later."

Lou nodded. "Thank you. I like turquoise."

"I'm sorry you're sitting here alone. Maybe you want to go outside for a bit? Cover the wounds with a scarf so that no sand gets inside. And the white spots, so that they are not exposed to the sun."

And so that no one saw them. Lou knew that this was the main reason. Even if the sun always burned terribly on the bright spots. Still, Lou liked to be outside. He knew his neighborhood well. His feet found their way almost by themselves. "Yes." When he was outside, at least he didn't hear his family be happy without him. "If I may?"

"You may. Just don't go too far!"

Lou shook his head. "Only as far as the well." If he was lucky, he would meet Remy there. His only friend, next to his siblings. His family didn't know about Remy. Lou feared they might forbid him to have one. Not because they wouldn't begrudge him a friend, but because of the curse. The curse was the cause of his worries.

But Remy knew he couldn't make Lou laugh. He was already fifteen. He knew such things. His friend came from a rich family of powerful witches and wizards. In his family, more precisely his relatives, there were a bunch of witches and wizards. That was a real rarity. And almost all of them had been blessed with strong magic. One of these witches was Remy's mother and now Remy hoped that the Gods of the Sand would give him magic as well.

"Can I put on my new tunic?" Lou asked. He wanted to show them to Remy. Lou rarely received gifts. He didn't smile because of it, but he still felt very proud. Yes, he was proud to have received a gift. He would have liked to laugh with happiness. But his face remained stoic, serious.

"If that's what you want, of course. But eat up first. So that you become big and strong."

"Big would be enough for me", Lou murmured. "Louise should become strong. So that she can gain respect from all the rich as soon as she has magic."

"Hmm..." Again, his father stroked his hair. "I'm sure she'll get magic. The gods of the sand watched her birth with happiness."

Unlike Lou. He didn't know why they didn't like him from the beginning. He only knew what people were saying. The gods did not answer him when he asked them quietly at night. But they were gods. And gods knew everything. Maybe he would become a criminal, or a murderer when he grew up. The elderly in the neighborhood whispered about it. And they wondered what his parents had done to be punished in such a way. They were always whispering.

Lou quickly ate up while his father told him who had come to Louise's party. Their neighbors across the street, they had five children. And the old people next door. Lou could hear the other kids laughing. They played together with Louise and Nina. He listened intently. Especially when he heard what gifts Louise had received. A pair of old sandals from the elderly and a self-carved wooden doll from the couple with the many children. A doll! Louise had wished for another one so that her wooden doll would have a friend. And she even had a dress made of old fabric. Louise was certainly happy!

Lou didn't have any sandals. They were too expensive. He didn't own a doll either, although he would like to have one as well. Sometimes he was allowed to borrow Louise's doll. Then he pretended that they were going on adventures together in his chamber. And he told the doll everything. Lou thought that Louise's doll was a very good listener.

When he had finished eating, his father handed him the tunic. He led Lou's hands to the sleeves where the embroidery was. Lou touched the rough fabric. He could feel the small embroideries. "Wasn't it expensive?" Then he held the fabric close to his eyes. He liked the embroidery. It looked pretty.

"No. The fabric comes from old rags. A few neighbors had them over. We washed it well, I sewed the tunic and your mom then embroidered it. We just had to buy the yarn. There was enough money for that. You should have something beautiful. Just like your sister."

"Thank you." A tear rolled down his cheek. Lou rarely cried. But now, at that moment, he cried a little. Lou felt loved. He didn't feel like that often. "I'm going to look like the rich boys in this tunic!", he announced with satisfaction. "I really like the tunic."

"Then put it on quickly!"

Lou needed help getting dressed. The wounds on his arm hurt too much. He was a little annoyed by this. But then, when he finally wore the new tunic and wrapped his face in an old cloth, he was finally able to sneak past the celebration and outside.

He walked slowly along the narrow streets, feeling his way with his hands and feet. In doing so, he was careful not to step into the water channels with which river water was channeled into the city. Here, in the slum, there were only a few. But Remy had told him that the temple and the palace of the wise were surrounded by water.

At the edge of the district, there was a well from which drinking water was drawn. Lou liked the well very much. There was always something going on there. He saw the many colors of the houses and people. And sometimes he could hear the strong flapping of a dragon's wings. Lou knelt by the fountain to look at the many pictures that had been carved into the stone. They featured images of brave sorcerers and witches riding dragons. No one paid attention to him. And as long as no one wanted to fetch water, they wouldn't shoo him away.

Riding dragons! Only a few were able to do this. Because for this, a magical covenant was necessary. Currently, there were only three dragon riders in the city. And two of them were Remy's uncles. Only the mightiest of the powerful could make a covenant with a dragon. Anyone else should stay away from dragons. White dragons could be friendly, but when they were hungry, humans were nothing but possible food in their eyes.

"Tiny! Is that you?", he heard a familiar voice.

Delighted, Lou turned around. But he wasn't smiling. "Remy!"

"It's you! You've got new clothes! Happy birthday!" Remy sat down next to him and put his arm around him. He almost touched Lou's wounds. "I haven't seen you in a while. Did something happen?"

Lou nodded nervously and looked at Remy. "I had an accident. Had to stay within."

His friend drew in his breath sharply. "Is that a burn scar?"

"Yes."

"What happened?"

Lou sighed. "I laughed at one of Louise's jokes. Now I'm even uglier."

"What? Let me take a look!" Remy bent over Lou's face so that he could see his friend's gray eyes. "This looks like a warrior's scar!"

"But I'm not a warrior."

"But warriors are cool! And with that, your scar is cool." Remy winked at him, then he leaned against the fountain again. "Is your sister celebrating?"

Lou nodded. "Without me. She has received beautiful gifts. Remy?"

"Yes, Tiny?"

"Have you gotten magic by now?"

Now it was Remy who sighed. "No. And I only have a few months left until I turn sixteen. And then my chances for magic are gone. I want to be a dragon rider. Maybe I'm lucky?"