Paris Syndrome — Tahir Shah

On the morning of her fifth birthday, Miki Suzuki's grandfather gave her an unusual gift - the fragment of a story. The tale told of a magical realm where all the women were beautiful, dressed in the finest gowns, and where the men had the looks of movie stars. This place, young Miki learned, was a city in far off Europe - a city called Paris. The story took seed in Miki's mind and, over twenty years, she became quite obsessed with the French capital. Having studied its history, language, and traditions, she vowed that one day she would venture there. One day she unexpectedly won a journey to the French capital through her company, selling beauty products door to door. Wildly excited, and exhausted after the journey, she vowed to see every site, and experience every possible. As the others in the tour group looked on in horror, the telltale signs of a rare and disturbing condition began to manifest themselves - a condition known as 'Paris Syndrome'.