And the Birds Rained Down by Jocelyne Saucier

Author:Jocelyne Saucier
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: FIC019000, FIC000000
ISBN: 9781770563339
Publisher: Coach House Books
Published: 2012-10-01T04:00:00+00:00

They each have their own corner, Marie-Desneige in her nest of furs and Charlie on his mattress at the other end of the room. But since the cabin is small and the night silent, they can hear each other move, they can hear each other breathe. Charlie can barely stand the intimacy. He isn’t used to sharing the night with anyone but Chummy. And then the silence that grows heavier when sleep doesn’t come. Charlie figures he has to ask a question to lift the weight, but what should he ask?

‘Was Ange-Aimée a friend of yours?’

‘She was the queen of our ward. Everyone respected her. She walked like a queen, talked like a queen, and I was her friend. Her lady’s maid.’

‘Her lady’s maid?’

They are whispering more than speaking. Charlie is using his velvety voice, the one he uses to approach a frightened animal. Marie-Desneige is more and more at ease. She is used to dormitories, secrets whispered between beds. Using a hushed voice, barely audible, she recounts some of her life in the asylum with her friend who believed she was the queen of Scotland and who gave her stockings to wash and hems to mend in exchange for her protection.

‘Nobody would have dared take on Ange-Aimée, Queen of Scotland, England, the Carpathians and the United Nations.’

‘The Carpathians isn’t a country.’

‘Neither is the United Nations.’

They laugh, amused at having thought almost the same thing at the same time, surprised to find themselves on common ground.

‘And why Marie-Desneige?’

‘There were a lot of Marys. Mary Lynn, Mary Ann, Mary Beth, Marie-Louise, Mary Kate, Mary Margaret, Mary Jane and just plain Mary. But there was only one Marie-Desneige. She was the prettiest one.’

‘It’s a nice name.’

This is said in a goodnight tone, and indeed, they say nothing further and fall asleep.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.