Transformation

  Tilda felt no urgency to marry. Perhaps she herself thought of it as a routine medical check-up, or a relatively narrow social duty that was urged and urged upon her - mainly by her grandparents, and later by her parents.

She was usually attracted to older men. As he later claimed, the mental and mature intelligence of a man increased in direct proportion to his acceptable age. In fact, in the last ten years she had begun to get into the habit - though she refused to admit it to herself - of trying to find the father of every man she barely saw.

His father was a truck driver and a truck driver who, if he ever went on a trip because he had to earn money, was happy to visit home once a month at the most. Tilda was especially annoyed and annoyed enough when she and her mother went shopping or to the local farmers' market, and most neighbours and acquaintances were happy to gossip about the Krum family.

- Hello Tildácska! - an elderly lady greeted her, who had heard a lot, so she liked to be shouted at. So it was only natural that sooner or later all the secrets in the small community would come out. - What about your father? Long time no see!

- I kiss you on the hand Klára neni! How do you like it? Daddy is working!

- Á! Understandable! Especially in today's world, where people think twice about what they buy! - in most cases, it was still the case that the curious old woman needed gossip, because curiosity saved her from total boredom.

- No offence, but I have to go and help my mum! - he simply had to leave the old woman, because once she started to say something, she wouldn't stop for days.

- Hello darling! Tell your father I said hello!" she called after him in her shrill, hoarse voice.

Tilda was a statuesque beauty, a strange creature, and over twenty-five, yet she often deliberately began to behave like a frothy, slightly flighty frump. She had long since decided that she would be a broadcaster or something like that, for the media world pays better than any other job, and with her lucky slim frame she could be anywhere, having already tested her developing skills and creativity on the local radio station.

Tilda was not only kind and direct with most people at first, but she seemed to exude an unearthly kindness and feminine charm that was extremely appealing to almost everyone. There was nothing artificial about her or superficiality, which is a characteristic of the present age, and this was appreciated by most people, including her employers.

Later, it almost broke her heart that no matter how much she went to a private speech teacher and enrolled in a drama course, or took ballet classes, just to be able to move on stage as gracefully and feminine as possible - if it came to it - the old, ugly associate professors and director sitting on the admissions committee clearly did not recommend it, because, as they said, they did not recommend it: acting requires a whole person, and Tilda, although undoubtedly extremely talented and with a promising future ahead of her, unfortunately lacks the kind of special creative spark needed for this career.

It was only later that he learned from an acquaintance that the term "creative spark" was practically synonymous with the phlegmatic, arrogant, jerky style that most well-paid artists unfortunately come to adopt over the years, perhaps to protect their already fragile egos and personalities.

- Oh, Mummy! Why can't I succeed in anything in this world?! - he asked himself and his mother in the dark solitude of his nursery, in the midst of crocodile showers, when no one could see him. - I feel so stupid and miserable!

- Come on, sweetheart! You know you have a fantastic talent that hasn't been recognized yet! But what goes around comes around! Everyone gets a slap in the face in life! Your job is to learn to get back on your feet and face problems with determination! There will be an audition on TV soon! For my sake, I want you to go and see if it goes well! - her mother always succeeded in making her daughter believe in her own abilities and that she was destined for more in the Krum family.

The local TV headquarters was standing on a corner of the main street, relatively alone. The stark, graveled concrete courtyard left no doubt that Tilda was in the right place. She had deliberately chosen conservative, office-appropriate clothes. She wore a black knee-length skirt and a snow-white blouse, her hair in a slightly more severe bun that made her look both more assertive and more confident. And though he was very much disturbed by the fact that his front incisors seemed to protrude from his mouth, he tried to suck them in with his slightly full lips to give a natural impression. After all, the most important thing is the first impression! How she hated the word "impression" yet she knew that another opportunity had been thrown at her, and she would be the most idiotic girl in the world if she didn't take the initiative.

His alabaster skin was pleasantly caressed by the caressing sunshine when he walked through the door and found himself in reception, where he was ushered straight into an office room with eight people, mostly men, and a single, pompous woman, who kept eyeing him with piercing, suspicious eyes, as he stepped in.

- Welcome dear Tilda! I think we can skip the usual template introduction now, if you don't mind! - she was told by a young director with a pleasant manner and a slightly honeyed look, who later turned out to be a member of the creative directorate of the TV station, so it was nice to be on good terms with him. - Why, may I ask, had he come to us?

Most of the participants, who had taken a seat behind the large table, and who had a very serious and determined look on their faces, were now obviously trying to appear a little more curious and interested - after all, the original aim was not to scare the young employee at the very first interview, or to make him nervous.

-I thought it would be a good springboard to develop my cognitive and creative skills! - she knew herself to be spouting off clichés and phrases, but if she just let it slip that she really wanted to be an actress, that job might be out of the question, and she wouldn't mind having to listen to a few neighbours' slightly disparaging remarks about the world of work and realistic earning potential.

- We read your CV! You'll do it! Yet we feel you are not who you say you are! - said a middle-aged, middle-aged man in a suit, who had his own well-combed, deeply ploughed opinion of everyone.

- Come on, Gyurika! Let's give this sympathetic young lady a chance, because you can see that she's dying to join our team! - the marcona woman has finally spoken. Like a snake hissing in one's ears.

So Tilda - for who knows what reason - was hired, and soon she was happy to tell her curious parents how well she had managed to fit into the world of television and media, and of course she got jobs and assignments of all kinds. One of these was the opening of the new DIY store, which was a perfect opportunity for the newcomer to get a taste of the world of the correspondent. Not to mention the fact that the camera route gave him a confidence, determination and professionalism that was also praised by the film industry.

Time flew by quickly and Tilda found that her initial shyness had been completely and successfully shed, and alongside her more serious, referential work, she decided to tempt fate and apply to the Arts in Theatre again. Maybe this time - who knows? - maybe the teachers will be more gracious.

On a serene mid-April day, when all the natural signs were pointing to pleasant weather, full of unexpected, surprisingly lucky twists and turns, Tilda drove up to Budapest - this time in a Honda car bought with her own earnings, and with a confidence she had only recently acquired.

"No need to rush, get excited!" - he encouraged himself. Besides, if too much tension gave him stomach cramps and nausea, and then he ate the whole damn thing, he would be ruined again.

He opened the big winged door of the building on Iron Street with confidence, and was anxious not to be chopped off his head by strangers who might not even know who he was.

Fortunately for him, some of the teachers already knew his face, because he had appeared in a series for teenagers in the small Pest town, and although his role was only a few lines from the script, he managed to bring so much acting, natural routine and primal instinct to his performance that those who saw him could not pass it by without saying something.

- You look so familiar, I just don't know where I met you! - was scrutinised by one of the admissions tutors.

- Oh, my Mikiki! Well, you know! That pink show on TV! - one of the teachers took over.

- Really! And tell me, my dear, how did you manage to get this job? - her piercing eyes piercing through Tilda's remaining confidence and her determined optimism.

- I was lucky..." he groaned, his throat clenched in a ball of fear. If he had any confidence, if he had any courage, it was now gone in a matter of minutes, giving way to a sticky black pitch that surrounded him menacingly.

- Well... I don't mind! - the boss-like instructor gave his final verdict, and then wrote on the form that he had passed.

It was hard to imagine a happier and more balanced person than Tilda to finally have this relatively happy period in her long and troubled life.

A few weeks later, he met his future love, who was also a few years older than him, at a gathering, and a romantic mystery surrounded their relationship. Tilda sternly insisted that she not yet introduce her partner to her parents, who would have been put off if they had seen that he was light years older and more experienced than their one-eyed daughter.

Then the crash hit. After seven years together, a tabloid magazine announced in a big editorial that the dream couple had split up! What Tilda couldn't stand, and what she was only now coming to terms with, was that everyone in the capital was looking for a sensation and a new gossip about a famous public figure.

On the advice of a friend, he immediately sued the tabloid magazine, and although he had no idea how much legal fuss and publicity it would cause, the result was that he made a handsome profit.

At the Acting School, she had another man in her life, but she and he remained good friends, as they both agreed that they wanted to pursue a career and that only when everything was perfectly ready for them to start a family would they deepen their relationship with each other and the outside world.

The moment she could finally get her degree after four years of hard work and dedication, and legitimately declare herself an actor, not just a nominal one, playing the roles offered to her in front of the cameras, Tilda felt she had matured enough to find a caring husband.

One of the characteristics and dangers of fame is that most famous people are forced to behave in unusual ways in certain situations, and since we are talking about actors, most actors like to cover up the fact that their profession is extremely diverse and complex, and because they are sometimes locked in a film shoot or play that can last for months, the pressure and temptation to do so becomes incredible. But Tilda made an inner vow to herself that if she was going to choose someone to be her life partner, she would do it most definitely at the behest of her heart, and she did.

It's not known how, or if, one of the celeb personalities got hold of the confidential and secret information, but the moment the Covid epidemic had subsided just a hair's breadth Tilda was already saying her vows in the shady, arbours of the garden amongst her closest, close friends. She was a little sorry that her beloved parents couldn't be there for her, and only her two ever-faithful and trusted friends, but that didn't deter her from learning to be truly and genuinely happy.

And because she was already an actor in the flesh, most outsiders who faithfully followed her life, especially on social media, were almost surprised by Tilda's ability to keep her emotions and moods in check. After all, that is what she has learned over four long, hard years, how to become a near-perfect manipulator, who night after night, when the curtain goes up, has to give the audience the best she can, and the better and more perfectly one does her job, the more subtle and successful the art of illusion and deception becomes.

Tilda - so to speak - has had success after success. TV, radio and the theatre were all interested in her and were waiting to see what she would do to captivate them. Later, it is not known whether she realised it, but those certain unfriendly, irritating, superficial friends and acquaintances began to surround her like carrion flies or leeches, and it was feared - especially by the demanding public - that Tilda was also pigeonholing herself, because sooner or later her personality would undergo a total transformation.