第23章献给佑兰的玫瑰RosesforYolande
加布里艾尔·罗伊GabrielleRoy
Whydidthememoryofthatdeadchildseekmeoutoifulday?Tillthen,nointimationofsorrowhadethroughthedazzliionsofasummerthatsang。
Ithappenedmanyyearsago。IhadjustarrivedinasmallvillageinManitoba,ada,tofinishtheschoolyearasreplatforateacherwhohadfallenillorsimply,forallIknew,beedisced。
&imeesforyoutoapplyforapermaion,”theprincipalofthenormalschoolhadtoldme,“You'llbeabletosaythatyou'vehadexperience。”
AndsoIfoundmyselfinspringinthatverype-justafewshacks,withnothingaroundbutspindlirees。“Amonth,”Iaskedmyself,“willthatbeloobeeattachedtothe?Willamoheeffort?”
&hesamecalwasinthemindsofthe,forIhadneverseenfacessodejected,soapatheticorperhapssorrowful。Ihadhadsolittleexperience。Imyselfwashardlymorethanachild。
Nineo'e。TheroomwashotasaimesinManitobaanitlesinduridaysofJune。
Sowiobegiendandcalledtheroll。ThehemostpartFrendtodaytheystillreturntomymemory,likethis,fornoreason:MadeleineBerube,JosephatBrisset,EmilienDumont,Cee。。。
Butmostofthewhoroseandanswered“Present,mamzelle”,whentheirnameswerecalledhadtheslightlynarrowedeyes,warmga-blackhairthattoldofmetisblood。
Theywerebeautifulaelypolite;therewasreallynothihemforexcepttheinceivabledistaaihemselvesacrushedme。“Isthiswhatarelike,then,”Iaskedmyselfwithanguish,“untouchable,barrisionwhereyou'treachthem?”
IeYolarand。
Nooneanswered。Irepeatedthenameaherewasstillnoanswer,Ilookedupatfacesthatseemedtomepletelyi。
&hebackofthe,abovethebuzzingofflies,aroseavoip;apos;tplaceatfirst。“She'sdead,mamzelle。Shediedlastnight。”
Perhapseveressingthahecalm,leveltohechild'svoice。
“Ah,”Isaid,lostforwords。
Welookedatoherinsilenceftime,theandI。hattheexpressiohatIhadtakenforindifferencewasaheavysadness。
“Sinde。。。wasyoursate。。。wouldyoulike。。。afterschoolatfouro'cloandvisither?”
Onthesmall,muchtooseriousfacesthereappearedthetrailes,wary,stillsad,butsmilesjustthesame。
AtfirstpastfourIfoundmostofthemwaitihedood20,butmakihaniftheywerebeierschool。Severalofthemweoshowmetheway。Otherspressedaroundmesoclosely。Icouldscarcelymove。Fiveorsixofthesmalleroookmebythehandandpulledmefentlyasiftheywereleadingabliheydidnottalk,merelyheldmeeheircircle。
&her,inthisway,wecametoawoodendinginisolationamongthirees。Itsdooren,sowewereabletoseethedeadeintheroomfromquitefaroff。Shehadbeenlaidhboardssuspe>
&shadundoubtedlydoheycouldfortheirchild。Theyhadcoveredherwithasheet。Hermother,probably,hadarrangedherhairiwhtbraidsthatframedthethisneedhadsentthemaurchaseofatown,orafewmoreboardstomakeherohemselves。
Thechildhadadelicatelittleface,verywasted,withtheseriousexpressiohefaostofthehere,asifthecaresoftheadultshadcrushedthemalltooearly。Shemighthavebeen10or11yearsold。
Thewerewatgme。IrealizedtheyedeverythihoughIdidn'tknowmuchmorethahenIhadasortofinspiration。
“Don'tyouthinkYolandewouldliketohavesomeohheralwaystillthetimeithertotheground?”
ThefacesofthetoldmeIhadstrucktherightnote。
“os;lltaketurnsthen,fourorfivearouwohours,untilthefubeottoletthefliestouchherface。”
Theyagreedwithaglowintheirdarkeyes。Standingarouheyrustinmesopleteitterrifiedme。
Inagamoreesashortdistanceaway,Inoticedabright-pinkstainonthegroundwhosesour'tyetknow。Thesu,makingitflame,theohisdaythathadbeentouchedbyagrace。
“Whatsirlwasshe?”Iasked。
Atfirstthedidn'tuhenaboyofaboutthesameagesaidwithtenderseriousness,“Shewassmart,Yolande。”
“Anddidshedowellinschool?”
“Shedidn'teveryoftenthisyear。Shewasalwaysbei。”
“OurteacherbeforelastsaidYolandecouldhavedonewell。”
“WhatdidYolandedieof?”
“Tuberzelle,”theyrepliedwithasihiswasthearywayfortodiearoundhere。
Theywereeagertotalkabouthernow。Ihadsuopeledoorsdeepwithinooneperhapshadevermutedtoseeopeoldmemovingfactsaboutherbrieflife。“Onedayonherwayhomefromschool-itwasFebruary。”“No,”saidanother,“inMarch-shehadlostherreaderainsolablyforweeks。Tostudyherlesso,shehadtoborrowabookfromohers,”-andIsawonthefaeofthemthatthey&apedlendingtheirreadersandwouldalwaysregretthis。“Nothavingadressforheration,shehadpleadedtillhermotherfinallymadeheroheonlythehouse-theohisroom。。。abeautifulla,mamzelle。”
“AnddidYolandelookprettyiaindress?”Iasked。
Theyallheireyesthememoryofapleasantimage。