We had a small dictation exercise in French the other day which made me feel really sad. This is weird, because, you know, it’s a dictation, but this was the dictation (translation follows):
C’est une vielle fille qui n’a pas de famille,
Elle est australienne et vit dans une ville tranquille.
Elle travaille dans une centre d’accueil depuis vingt ans
Et elle s’y ennuie un peu.
C’est toujours pareil, ses employeurs ne sont pas de bons payeurs,
Et passe ses dimanches avec son chien et son appareil photo
Et ses soirées devant la télévision.
Elle voudrait être ailleurs.
Translation:
She’s an old girl who doesn’t have any family,
She’s Australian and lives in a quiet town.
She works in a visitors’ centre for 20 years,
And she finds it kind of boring there.
It’s always the same, her bosses don’t pay well,
And she spends her Sundays with her dog and her camera,
And her evenings in front of the TV.
She wants to be elsewhere.
Honestly, I think that one of the saddest things in the world are people who are lonely and have no one and nothing to live for. So I’ve decided to write her a follow on story (sorry if it’s shit).
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One Sunday evening she gets a call, the call is from an insurer, of all people. He says that she no longer has a job. The visitor centre had been destroyed, it had been eaten by a fire, the details of which were unimportant, what he had called to say was that, as the longest standing employee she got all of the insurance money. (Her stingy bosses all died in the fire, they too did not have any family). Shocked at this she had to have a little sit down and a cup of tea in front of the TV and watch some Coro St before calling him back with the her bank details. Never in her life had she had so much money, she didn’t know what to do. She looked down at her faithful doggie- his name is Aeneas- and asked his little doggie face what she should do. His fluffly paw reached for her camera, the one she had had for ages and forever. And it was settled there. They were going to take photos.
The hours in front of the TV had provided enough exposure to fantastic places that one might’ve gone crazy and delusional from the thought of being able to explore such sites. However both she and Aeneas knew what they were doing. They sat down together and planned in which general direction they wanted to go, because, of course, Aeneas was coming too. And why not, she thought, buy a new camera. The young man at the store had been really helpful and had given her a camera with lots of memory, which was good she thought, seeing as she didn’t have much of her own.
And off they went, her and Aeneas. The first place was Japan where she tried sushi, udon, takoyaki, sashimi and donburi for the first time and took photos of the beautiful zen gardens. It was exhilarating being out and discovering these wonderful new things. She couldn’t remember ever feeling like this. Aeneas loved it too and everyone loved Aeneas, especially the young Japanese girls. {So much wagging, so much wagging he thought his tail might fall off from exhaustion, and just when he thought the wagging would stop, around the corner their would be another thing to wag about- most likely a group of school girls all just as excited as he was to see them. So much wagging.} She took lots of pictures of Aeneas and the girls.
Then, making their way West, or East, she wasn’t sure what direction they were going in, Aeneas knew though, they arrived in China where they climbed the Great Wall-Aeneas bounding up the stairs, watched the Imperial Opera and ate endless amounts of dim sum. Everyone at the yum cha loved Aeneas too, a little too much she thought. To the South of Asia in India she saw the slums where Aeneas played with the kids and brought smiles to their beautiful faces. The photos of these kids bought her more joy than the ones at home ever had. It was here that she made a generous donation for the kids. The kids loved Aeneas and Aeneas loved them back, but alas, they had started their journey and had to be on their way.
Though never having left her quiet town she felt that hopping from one extreme to the next felt like the most natural thing, as though she and Aeneas had been born to travel, or perhaps she was finally catching up on all of the adventures she had missed out on in her life. And onward they moved. To Turkey, Gallipoli to be precise, to visit the ANZAC Cove. Aeneas did look very brave in the picture he took next to the statute. {He had his serious face on, not so much wagging, but lots of exploring}. It was here that she realised that she had not paid any attention in school. Oh well, she thought, better late than never.
Toward the desert lands riding camels in Egypt. The camels didn’t like Aeneas although Aeneas liked the camels. He got his very best hieroglyphic pose on for the camera. If climbing the Great Wall was hard, the pyramids were harder, only Aeneas decided to go up. It was so hot here she mused. Perhaps something less sandy next.
Something more somber was the concentration camp in Auschwitz in Poland. She had known of some survivors, although that was a long time ago, and was amazed to see and hear of the brutality that they endured. No photos here. Aeneas didn’t like it and stuck close the whole time they were there. Somewhere more lively she thought and somewhere more to Aeneas’s liking. So off they went to Paris, the city of love, where Aeneas more than fit in, and found more than just croissants and wine. They were right tourists seeing Eiffel Tower and walking down the Champs-Elysees. So many people. So many dogs. They both wanted somewhere quieter.
And that is how they found themselves in a small town out somewhere in the French country-side nibbling on the most exquisite bread and cheese either of them had ever had, watching the sunset along some beautiful river. She was happy. Aeneas was happy- he loved cheese. It was just at this moment that a man approached them, he too had bread and cheese and a bottle of wine. How lovely, thought Aeneas, tail wagging. She and the Baker talked for hours sharing stories of their lives, his stories had happened many years before, hers all just recently. He was lovely. This evening was too lovely for words.
By the time that she realised anytime had passed it had been months since they had last moved. Aeneas had already began to settle into this pace of life. She found a job as a baker’s wife. Although both were past their golden years, the Baker taught her the art of bread making with such enthusiasm and skill that it filled her with an energy she didn’t know if she had ever felt. If I stay here, she thought, then the adventure will never end. And it never did.
THE END 
(that makes me feel better)