Charlotte. David Foenkinos
his wife.
But the darkness is already settled in their bed.
I need you, he says.
Charlotte needs you, he says.
She falls asleep, for the night.
But gets up again.
Albert opens his eyes, watches her.
Franziska walks over to the window.
I want to see the heavens, she says to reassure her husband.
Often, she tells Charlotte that everything is more beautiful in heaven.
And adds: when I’m there, I’ll send you a letter to tell you all about it.
The afterlife becomes an obsession.
Don’t you want mama to become an angel?
Wouldn’t that be wonderful?
Charlotte says nothing.
An angel.
Franziska knows one: her sister.
Who had the courage to put an end to it all.
To exit life silently, without warning.
The death of an eighteen-year-old girl.
The death of promise.
Franziska believes there is a hierarchy of horror.
The suicide of a mother is a superior suicide.
She could occupy first place in the family tragedy.
Who would contest the supremacy of her devastation?
One night, she gets quietly out of bed.
Not even breathing.
For once, Albert does not hear her.
She goes to the bathroom.
Picks up a vial of opium and swallows it all.
Her groan finally awakens her husband.
He rushes over, but the door is locked.
Franziska does not open it.
Her throat is on fire, the pain is unbearable.
She doesn’t die, however.
And her husband’s panic ruins her goodbyes.
Does Charlotte hear all this?
Does she wake up?
In the end, Albert manages to open the door.
He brings his wife back to life.
The dose was too small.
But now he knows.
Death is no longer merely a fantasy.
6
When she wakes up, Charlotte goes in search of her mother.
Your mama was sick in the night.
You mustn’t disturb her.
For the first time, the little girl goes to school without seeing her.
Without kissing her.
Franziska will be safer at her parents’ house.
That is what Albert thinks.
If she stays alone, she will kill herself.
It is impossible to reason with her.
Franziska goes back to her old bedroom.
The place where she grew up.
The place where she was happy with her sister.
With her parents’ support, she regains a little strength.
Her mother tries to conceal her anxiety.
How is it possible?
Her second daughter attempting suicide, after the first killed herself.
No hope of any respite.
She seeks help wherever she can.
They call a neurologist, a family friend.
She has gone through a rough patch, but it will pass, he reassures them.
An excess of emotion, a highly sensitive personality, nothing more.
Charlotte worries.
Where is mama?
She is sick.
She has flu.
It’s very contagious.
So it’s better not to see her for the moment.
She’ll be back soon, Albert promises.
Though he doesn’t sound altogether convincing.
He is angry with his wife.
Especially when he sees Charlotte in such distress.
All the same, he visits her every evening.
His parents-in-law greet him coldly.
They hold him responsible.
He is never at home, always working.
The suicide attempt is obviously an act of despair.
Provoked by her terrible loneliness.
They have to blame someone.
And what about your other daughter, he wants to shout, is that my fault too?
But Albert remains silent.
He ignores them, and goes to sit next to the bed.
Alone with his wife at last, he brings up a few memories.
It always ends like this, with memories.
For a moment, things look hopeful.
Franziska takes her husband’s hand, manages a faint smile.
These are instants of peace, even of tenderness.
Brief passages of life between the dark desires.
They choose a nurse to care for the patient.
That is the official version.
Her real job, of course, is to watch over Franziska.
The days pass under the gaze of this stranger.
Franziska never asks about her daughter.
Charlotte no longer exists.
When Albert brings one of their daughter’s drawings, the mother turns her face away.
7
The Grunwalds eat in the large dining room.
The nurse crosses the room, sits down next to them for a moment.
Suddenly, the mother is seized by a vision.
Franziska alone in her room, walking over to the window.
She glares at the nurse.
Jumps to her feet and runs upstairs to her daughter.
She opens the door, just in time to see the body falling.
She screams her head off, but it’s too late.
A thud.
The mother moves forward, trembling.
Franziska is lying in a pool of her own blood.
Part Two
1
When she hears the news, Charlotte says nothing.
A violent attack of flu has taken her mother.
She thinks about that word: flu.
One