⌠Transcriptions et traductions sous âAfficher davantageâ / Transcripts and translations under the cut âŒ
Small HiatusâŠ
Hello everyone,
Things are a bit hectic for both Naviss and me at the moment, both professionally and personally. So weâve decided to take a short break from this story. Weâre neither lacking motivation nor inspirationâquite the opposite, in fact. Some major plotlines are even in the works. So weâll be back soon, even if we canât say exactly when.
I looked on my end as well, but I also can't get my hands back on the postcards Lucien sent. To be fair, this attic is even more of a mess than the one in the Oise house! Not to mention the outbuilding, which turned up quite a few oddities of its own â but Iâll tell you more about that once Iâve managed to make some sense of it.
As for Louise, I can only hope for the best. She is an excellent student, often seeking the help of her cousin Elisabeth with her work, but she doesnât seem particularly passionate about school. Antoine is convinced that I should enroll her in a boarding school in Toulouse, but she has so little taste for academic life that I donât want it to become the boundaries of her world. Elisabeth tells me that she has a creative mind, full of legends and fantastical creatures. She supposedly keeps a notebook where she writes her notes, but refuses to show it to anyone. She was also quite upset with her cousin for having mentioned it to me. She seems so calm and mature that I sometimes forget she is only sixteen.
When I ask her how she imagines her future, she always answers that she is happy here, and that she does not wish to leave. Perhaps, like my sister Jeanne, she will find love here and marry, just as all of us have.
Louise: âSo⊠youâre sure.â
Anna: âYouâre getting on my nerves! Iâm more than ready.â
Louise: âI just hope itâs not going to blow up in your face, thatâs all.â
Anna: âOh, I really doubt that!â
Louise: âBut what exactly are we supposed to do?â
Anna: âJust break the bottle at my feet. Make sure you stand well back if you donât want to be affected too.â
Louise: âThat would bother you, wouldnât it?â
Anna: âNot at all. When we started this, I promised Iâd share everything with you. All you have to do is say the word andââ
Louise: âNo, thanks, thatâs fine. But⊠is that really all? No spell, no incantation circle to draw, no waning moon cycle or whatever?â
Anna: âOh⊠if only you knew how many rituals this tookâŠâ
The future of the youngest of my sisters, Julienne, remains somewhat unclear. We have rather little contact, and she isnât a very expressive personâmuch like Anna. Iâm always surprised when I notice similarities in temperament among different members of the family.
Iâm eager to see each of them find her own path. I would like to encourage Julienne to choose a clear direction (sheâs studying chemistry, but speaks very little about what comes next, especially sinceâeven nowadaysâit is still difficult for a woman to make a career in the sciences), and Anna to follow Elisabethâs example, as she continues her training as a journalist. A journalist and a botanistâthose would be two professions never before practiced in our family. I imagine that, when heâs old enough, Iâll train Charles to take over after me, if he wishes, of course. Then I will finally have time to think about something else.
Anna: âYouâre still reading that? Isnât this at least the third time?â
Louise: âYouâre just saying that to be unpleasant. I know youâre just as intrigued as I am by the abilities of vampires. Their influence, their immortalityâŠâ
Anna: âThey became boring the moment I figured out how to uncover the secret of immortality.â
Louise: âYou havenât proven anything yet.â
Anna: âMy, what a temper today, dear cousin! However, I can tell you that Iâve finally found the formula and the potion to enhance my powers. I thought you might be interested.â
Louise: âAre you serious?â
Anna: âAnd youâre still skeptical.â
Louise: âAnna, think⊠Youâre the one who taught me that in magic, thereâs always a price to pay sooner or later, that for every blessing thereââ
Anna: ââŠthereâs a curse, yes yes, and yadda yadda⊠I know that perfectly well! Nature owes me a debt after what it took from me! But if you donât believe me, come along⊠Anyway, I didnât want to try it without you.â
Anna « Je dois tâaider Ă faire tes courses, câest ça ? »
Elisabeth « En fait oui, et je me disais quâavec un peu de chance ma sĆur y verrait une occasion de passer un peu de temps ensemble. Je ne peux pas tout faire toute seule dans cette maison, Anna. »
Anna « Tu nâes pas la seule Ă ĂȘtre utile ici, tu sais. »
Elisabeth « Anna, je crois que je nâarriverais jamais Ă comprendre en quoi ce que tu fais peut-ĂȘtre si essentiel, surtout si tu refuses de mâen parler. Mais ce nâest pas le sujet. Tu veux bien mâaider ? »
⌠Transcriptions et traductions sous âAfficher davantageâ / Transcripts and translations under the cut âŒ
Spring 1947, Hylewood, Canada
I meant to end my letter here, but I realize I have forgotten to tell you something important. Agathon, my brother-in-law, was recently promoted to conductor. Well⊠he would have been, had he not refused the position and resigned on the spot! Yes, you read that correctly. To be entirely accurate, he didnât exactly refuse the position - he only postponed accepting it⊠But between us, that is all the same. He would rather ruin his future and his career to go do who knows what in Montreal⊠I shall never understand him.
⌠Transcriptions et traductions sous âAfficher davantageâ / Transcripts and translations under the cut âŒ
Spring 1947, Hylewood, Canada
nce your mind is occupied with something other than your worries, you will see - everything will come more easily, and it will be simpler for you to connect with others. You will have, ready at hand, a light subject to bring up in any company.
This openness you show toward my husband and myself - do you manage to extend it to others as well? The dignity of your position and the weight of your many responsibilities naturally lead you to conceal any sign of weakness, for you do not wish to cause concern, whether in your professional or family life.
Let me give you an example: you do not want your brother to feel guilty for having left his children in your care, and for continuing to do so even now. Perhaps you fear that their difficult temperaments might be blamed on your upbringing of them - or worse still, that Marc-Antoine might reproach himself for it. The fact remains that, once again, you are effacing yourself for the sake of everyone else. It does you great credit, and speaks of true selflessness⊠except that you hide this self-effacement behind a façade of confidence, so that your loved ones will not notice the very sacrifice they impose upon you - quite unintentionally, of course.
And so I come to my conclusion: you must find a confidant with whom you can let the mask fall, since your late husband can no longer be that person, and since there is an ocean between us. I stress the word must, my dear - for you know that I am right.
⌠Transcriptions et traductions sous âAfficher davantageâ / Transcripts and translations under the cut âŒ
Spring 1947, Hylewood, Canada
When my aunt reached her forties, she went through a rather difficult spell - a sort of melancholy. A widow, with her son away at boarding school, she suddenly found herself alone at home and quite without purpose. I shall give you the same advice I gave her then: take up a craft, something to keep your hands and mind occupied. Aunt Ada took up flower arrangement, and it transformed her entirely. She now creates the most exquisite compositions. I believe I mentioned that a few years ago - in 1944 - Governor Langlie stayed on the island. It was my aunt herself who arranged the bouquets for his receptions, which says quite a lot, doesnât it?
Be completely honest with yourself: can you name a single friend, not a family member, not a business acquaintance, whom you see regularly? If you cannot, it means you lack perspective, and that is what causes you to drown in your anxieties. What you need is distraction. If I am not mistaken, you live near Toulouse, do you not? Once a month, make an effort to go there. Go see a film, an exhibition, a concert - whatever pleases you most - but do go out!
Tell me, in your large house, is there a single corner that belongs to you and you alone - as Anna has her greenhouse? A workshop, a study, a veranda⊠You have given so much; it is time you began to take a little back for yourself.
⌠Transcriptions et traductions sous âAfficher davantageâ / Transcripts and translations under the cut âŒ
Spring 1947, Hylewood, Canada
Are you interested in art? I love art in all its forms, though I have a particular fondness for the modern. I buy Canadian Art quite regularly to keep myself informed. Last year, I took Roseline to an exhibition in Toronto devoted to Jackson Pollock. For our tenth wedding anniversary, Lucien took me to Ottawa to see Martha Graham dance. When I think of the fact that you have spent most of your life near Paris, I cannot help but feel a little envious.
⌠Transcriptions et traductions sous âAfficher davantageâ / Transcripts and translations under the cut âŒ
Spring 1947, Hylewood, Canada
Do you manage to maintain your relationships in Champs-les-Sims despite the distance? Friendships often fade when people no longer see each other. Lucien used to be very close to his school friends. I was about to write that he lost touch with them after the war, but thinking about it, their bond had already begun to loosen after the children were born. I believe we have not seen them since Roselineâs christening, back in â35. As for my own schoolmates, our correspondence now amounts to a few cards exchanged for New Yearâs, births, and christenings.