Darla

Danica changed her name to Darla thinking it would make life a little sweeter. Though her parents thought themselves original at the time of her birth, the girl always felt Danica sounded hard as a rock, severe as an angry coast. Also, she had been called Danica the Manica by inspired classmates. Even so, she wore her hair short as she pleased, wrote far away poems, and bought flashy, second hand shoes. Now 19, now living abroad, now known as Darla, she was surprised to find herself sobbing on the Tube thinking, "I want to go home."