Eight years old, distant and detached, Manon has an undiagnosed neurodiversity (Autism, ADHD, Synaesthesia?).
Due to being quiet and, mostly, compliant Manon is typical of the many girls who aren't diagnosed. Instead she is seen as weird, lazy or 'away with the fairies'. Dismissed by teachers, bullied by peers, emotionally abused by her step-father, Manon has developed her own inner life to escape. Her only positive relationship in reality is with her mother, Gwen, with whom she converses freely, but only in her first language, Welsh. As a result her mother misses Manon's difficulties in life and her step-father, who has no Welsh, sees this as a defiance of his authority.
Manon, like many neurodiverse children, has a hyper fixation. She is deeply engrossed by Welsh mythology to the point where she believes she has a connection with the 'other world' of the Tylwyth Teg. During stressful moments she escapes reality to seek support from her companion, the Mari Lwyd. This pagan mid-winter apparition has uncertain connections to old myths of death and re-birth. In Welsh fairy lore the other folk are sometimes friends but also have a very sinister side. Manon's inner life with the Mari Lwyd, whilst providing her with comfort, also compounds her isolation from the real world and leads to real world problems.
Manon's difficulties with social interaction, communication, and sensory processing make it hard for her to navigate the 'real' world. Her sensitivity to light, sound, and touch often lead to sensory overload and meltdowns, which further isolate her from her peers. Through her connection to Welsh mythology, she finds a way to escape the world around her and cope with the challenges of everyday life. However, as she embarks on a journey into the world of the Tylwyth Teg, Manon's grip on reality becomes increasingly tenuous, and she struggles to reconcile her inner world with the reality of the world around her.
