Edward Nice was born to wealthy parents. His father was a senior officer in the Army which meant Edward lived most of his childhood travelling and in far flung places. Edward’s biggest angst was that he didn’t have friends; whenever he made any, it was time to move to a new place. In 1954 Edward moved to his new home, which was probably the farthest from any population that he had ever been. He would spend hours playing by himself and then reminiscing the time he spent with friends and at school. 

After his father announced that he will be home tutored, Edward’s idleness was suddenly filled by the presence of one Mrs. Katherine Baid. Mrs. Baid was a woman of impeccable manners, spoke immaculate English and was rather obsessively punctual. However beyond these traits, that Edward sometimes found annoying, she had a friendly demeanor and even a mothering side to her. After the studies she would often end the session with an enjoyable fairytale. The fairies, gnomes and elves that she narrated in her stories stayed with Edward long after she left. They even started appearing in the back pages of Edward’s notebooks and sometimes on the walls of his room. 

Just when Edward had started to settle in his new way of life, his father announced that it was time for another move. The move was rather sudden and there were no sendoffs or farewell hugs from Mrs. Baid, except for a small goodbye message on this notebook that he discovered later. He treasured his notebook for years. 

Edward continued to travel with his father for years to come. He studied under several teachers and many of them he loved, but he kept looking for a bit of Mrs. Baid in all of them. 

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