fenevour ik nez
“This is Fenevour.”
“Here?”
“Yeah. This square.”
“Is ‘Fenevour’ a name of someone important?”
“Well, it means ‘forever’.”
“’Forever’? Wow, that’s so…cool. ‘Forever Square’. How did this name come about?”
“You see that house over there?”
“Uh huh.”
“That’s Letizia Huis. That’s where it all began.”
“Tell me more.”
“There was this Colonel’s daughter, Letizia Francke, who was in love with a baker’s son. Her father, Colonel Francke was a key man of the King. She was to marry Prince Alexander. This marriage was important to her father, so he was naturally angry that she should have a relationship with a mere commoner. It was even scandalous at that time. Back then, the boundary of Venprek was only up till the Sentje. Over here was a vast plain, with this solitary church, run by Sister Jimena. It was a safe house for people of all kinds. Francke sent her daughter here, to be kept away from her lover until her marriage to the Prince. At that time, smallpox hit the city and her lover was a victim of it. News got to her of his death from it. She begged Sister Jimena to let her out, to see him one last time. Sister Jimena relented. Just as Letizia was about to leave via a backdoor, her father arrived. Angered that his orders were about to be defied, a heated argument ensued. Finally, he warned her against stepping out of the church. His words were, ‘Step out, and you shall join him forever.’ To which, she replied, ‘Forever is now.’ He shot her. It was a great tragedy at that time. The church changed its name to Letizia Huis, Letizia House, in memory of Letizia. When Venprek expanded westwards much later, the authorities ceded to Sister Ariel’s request, to have a square here in memory of that tragedy. Forever. If you notice, the church looks out of place when compared to the other buildings, because they were from a much later era. And the side facing this square is actually the back of the building. Follow me.”
They stopped in front of the back of the house. There, on the ground was a plaque.
“Fenevour ik nez. Forever is now. That’s why we have this saying ‘fenevour ik nez’, when we talk about last chances, about being pushed into a corner with nowhere to go but to try for it. And this place is often used as a reference point. Like if you ask people where is Domtorren, they might tell you ‘west de fenevour’. West of Forever,” he paused. “So, this is the story of Forever.”
“Isn’t it amazing, how people in the past can sacrifice their lives for love?”
“But was it really love? What is love, really?”
“Do you believe in love?”
“I don’t know.”
“Here?”
“Yeah. This square.”
“Is ‘Fenevour’ a name of someone important?”
“Well, it means ‘forever’.”
“’Forever’? Wow, that’s so…cool. ‘Forever Square’. How did this name come about?”
“You see that house over there?”
“Uh huh.”
“That’s Letizia Huis. That’s where it all began.”
“Tell me more.”
“There was this Colonel’s daughter, Letizia Francke, who was in love with a baker’s son. Her father, Colonel Francke was a key man of the King. She was to marry Prince Alexander. This marriage was important to her father, so he was naturally angry that she should have a relationship with a mere commoner. It was even scandalous at that time. Back then, the boundary of Venprek was only up till the Sentje. Over here was a vast plain, with this solitary church, run by Sister Jimena. It was a safe house for people of all kinds. Francke sent her daughter here, to be kept away from her lover until her marriage to the Prince. At that time, smallpox hit the city and her lover was a victim of it. News got to her of his death from it. She begged Sister Jimena to let her out, to see him one last time. Sister Jimena relented. Just as Letizia was about to leave via a backdoor, her father arrived. Angered that his orders were about to be defied, a heated argument ensued. Finally, he warned her against stepping out of the church. His words were, ‘Step out, and you shall join him forever.’ To which, she replied, ‘Forever is now.’ He shot her. It was a great tragedy at that time. The church changed its name to Letizia Huis, Letizia House, in memory of Letizia. When Venprek expanded westwards much later, the authorities ceded to Sister Ariel’s request, to have a square here in memory of that tragedy. Forever. If you notice, the church looks out of place when compared to the other buildings, because they were from a much later era. And the side facing this square is actually the back of the building. Follow me.”
They stopped in front of the back of the house. There, on the ground was a plaque.
“Fenevour ik nez. Forever is now. That’s why we have this saying ‘fenevour ik nez’, when we talk about last chances, about being pushed into a corner with nowhere to go but to try for it. And this place is often used as a reference point. Like if you ask people where is Domtorren, they might tell you ‘west de fenevour’. West of Forever,” he paused. “So, this is the story of Forever.”
“Isn’t it amazing, how people in the past can sacrifice their lives for love?”
“But was it really love? What is love, really?”
“Do you believe in love?”
“I don’t know.”
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