Madeleine’s Story

"Carlo."

"Oh it's you, Steffi."

"Am I too early?"

"It's all right. Take a seat."

"Ok."

"Are you all right?"

"Never been better. I wasn't serious about it anyway. What is it? Don't look at me like that."

"You know, it is all right if you feel like crying. I am here."

"Don't say things like that. I will fall in love with you and you will break my heart."

"All right. What do you want to drink? Since you are the first customer of the day, it's on the house."

"Something to cheer me up."

"M?"

"Yes, that would be nice. After all, it's your creation."

"One M coming up."

"You know, I guess Madeleine was right after all."

"About?"

"Him."

"Don't dwell too much on her words."

"But you always agree with her."

"Do I?"

"Yeah. You are always on her side."

"Seems to be, eh? Your M."

"Are you serious about Vera?"

"Why are you asking strange things at 5p.m.?"

"You are not, right?"

"What answer do you want to hear?"

"You aren't."

"What can I say?"

"This M… it doesn't stand for your family name Mikoun, as you have claimed, right?"

"What else could it stand for?"

"Madeleine."

"Some finger food?"

"I am right, am I not?"

"Maybe."

"But it is not the present Madeleine, because it is so bright, sweet and cheerful."

"Do you know why Madeleine has such a distrust of foreigners?"

"No."

"Both our families come from the coast. Her family had owned a restaurant by the sea for generations. But the government had a plan to develop the area for tourism. So her family was forced out, along with many others. What you see there today are hotels, bars and restaurants offering both international and traditional cuisine. But if you ask us, the traditional food they serve is rubbish. It is just tourist gimmicks, you know. Everything. Madeleine's grandfather passed away because of all these. He was a great cook. Shortly after that, Madeleine left and came here. She blamed the tourists for taking away her home, her sea and her grandfather. She blamed her family for failing to defend everything. But more than anything else, she hates herself for being powerless. Have you ever read anything Madeleine wrote in the past?"

"No…"

"This M… I created it because I am looking for a girl. A girl whom I saw on the tram a long time ago. Before I came to this city. She was reading a book, and there was this smile on her face. Looking at her, I felt at peace with myself, and at once understood what bliss meant. This is the Madeleine I know. The Madeleine who loves and is loved. The Madeleine who writes about life, hopes and dreams."