An Unexpected Encounter

I had just received a whole series of documents from England. By the time I had gone through them, taken notes, and sorted everything, the chimes were striking two o’clock in the morning. Tomorrow is going to be difficult — quickly, off to bed.

It was a little after nine when I got up. The morning passed quickly between housework and preparing lunch. A name kept circling in my mind: Raphaël! It rang a bell, but I was too tired to think about it.

Sitting in front of my plate, after swallowing the last bite, I suddenly felt as though I were swaying. My heart seemed to beat more slowly, my eyelids grew heavy, and my breathing fell into the rhythm of a metronome.

I was not going to fight it.

I went back to bed.

Morpheus was holding out his arms to me.

I found myself in a forest — no, in an immense park. The trees, the plants, the pathways were far too carefully arranged; human hands had clearly shaped this place.

I followed a steep path uphill. I was out of breath. Just a few more steps and I reached the edge of the park.

The view took my breath away. A large city lay below me.

Where am I? What time am I in?

Two children waved at me, and I walked toward them.

“Hello, Miss Rose. I’m Raphaël, Catherine’s grandson, and this is my big sister Iness.”

One after the other, the two children began asking questions.

“Hello, children. Where are we? What year is this?”

“In Clermont-Ferrand, on April 30th, 2022,” Iness answered. She seemed a little older than her brother.

“Where do you come from?”

“From your grandmother’s imagination.”

“How old are you?”

“I’m thirty years old. I’ve always been thirty, and I’ll always be thirty. Catherine makes me travel through time.”

“What years have you already visited?”

“I’ve already met many people from different times, times you’ll learn about at school when you’re older.”

“Do you like this park?”

“It’s beautiful! I feel as though people have preserved nature and built things while respecting green spaces.”

“Have you ever been to Calais?”

“Yes, I know Calais very well. I live there. What about you? Do you know the city?”

“Yes, I was born in Calais, and my grandpa and a lot of my family still live there. I came here on holiday to stay with my Aunt Méghann. I love going to the beach,” Raphaël replied.

“I love the beach too — walking along the promenade or simply looking out at the sea. I’m very happy to have met you, children. One last question: how old are you?”

“Iness is ten and I’m eight. We live with our mum, Magalie. Dad lives not far from us. I was six months old and Iness was two and a half when we arrived in Clermont-Ferrand.”

“I must go now. I’m very happy to have met you both. Catherine talks to me regularly about the two of you. She loves you very much.”

“Goodbye, Miss Rose.”

“Goodbye, children.”

The birdsong and the sound of the wind in the trees were gentle to my ears. I relaxed every muscle in my body, buried my face in the pillow, turned over one last time, and got up.

It was three o’clock in the afternoon.

I was going to walk down to the beach and imagine those children playing in the sea.

Note: Raphaël was the one who came to tell me he wanted to speak with Miss Rose. He had heard me talking about my “stories” with his mother and uncle, and because he was part of my family, he naturally assumed he belonged on my family tree.
Perhaps a future genealogist in the making…