30 MESSAGES FROM AROUND THE WORLD Fiona Alexander brought me a bag of cards. It was Eid ul. Azha, ‘Big Eid’, the holiday when my family always went tp Shangla. So I thought, ‘How nice, some friends have sent me cards for Eid.’ But how did they know where I was, I wondered. Then I noticed the Postage dates. 16 October, 17 October. These were the days tight after the shootin 1g. These cards had nothing to do with Eid, They were from People all over speedy recovery. Many were from children. I was astonished at how many cards there were. j the world wishing me a “You haven't seen anything yet,’ Fj, Ona said. She said there were eight thousand letters Waiting for me. Some were addressed simply “Malala, Birmingh, | Birm| m Hospital’. One was addressed “Girl Shot in th ris © Head, Birmingham’. 168 |= Fiona told me that over two hundred Journalists from. nd the world had come to the hospital to see me. she hospital had been giving daily press briefings about ‘me. ‘There were parcels too. Boxes of chocolate, And teddy pears of every size and shape. Most precious of all, Perhaps, was a parcel sent by Benazir Bhutto's children, Inside were two shawls that had belonged to their mother, There were messages from government leaders, diplomats and movie stars. Selena Gomez had tweeted about me, Beyoncé had wished me well on Facebook, and Madonna had dedicated a song to me. There was even a message from Angelina Jolie. It was exciting, overwhelming, and - because my brain was still not working right — confusing. How did Angelina Jolie even know who I was? While I was in a windowless room ‘unaware of what was happening in the outside world, the outside world knew exactly what had happened to me. Except for that one day when I tried to watch the BBC, I hadn’t seen the news since Thad arrived. But now I understood: I was the news. : People had been praying for me, Dr Fiona and Dr Javid and all the wonderful doctors and nurses in Pakistan and body, All these people's prayers and England had saved my my life eat support had ee ae was feeling so alone in this hospital, How ana e my family, worrying about how we would ing about my } wondering @! 169~s pay for my care, people from all around the World w, worrying about me! I didn’t feel so lonely anymore, “e Icouldn’t wait to get home and tell Moniba about Angeling Jolie! 170