September 28th, 1984

Dear Mirette,

Life has been much more eventful this past month than it has been in a very long time. I’ll spare you all the details; but I’ve become a part of a very important operation, and our mayor and a beloved member of the island community were lost. Despite how busy I’ve been, today I was left with a day off while I wait for the next full moon.

I had a whole pot of coffee this morning, I spent a few hours finishing my file on 6-legged-leeches. You’ve likely never heard of this creature, so I will draw a little diagram of one.

Isn’t it creepy? I have a lot of photos of them stored in the file. I find all kinds of animals like these on the island, some so odd I could never even conceptualize them back in France.

After my coffee I went for a walk to the town bulletin board. There was nothing of interest—some things about birthday parties, job offers—the usual. I left my phone number as I always do. After I sat on a bench for a while. It can be nice to do nothing at all. It was quiet, no one was in the area but me. I ended up watching the birds sit on their telephone poles. There were only a few at first, but the longer I sat more and more flocked in. There had to be about 40 by the end, and all of them were facing me, why? Unmoving, silent sparrows with their eyes glued to me. I didn’t like it.

I went home and watched a black-and-white movie on my television. It was about a woman who saw a man in a dream, and knew that he would be her soulmate. She searches everywhere but never finds him. One night she has another dream about the man, and realizes he was her next door neighbor all along! And they fall in love, and get married. You never seemed much interested in romance, but isn’t that so nice? I’m sorry if this has been uninteresting to you.

I spent a lot of time smoking cigarettes on the rooftop. I feel guilt in being so reliant on them, it’s bad for my health, and I know it makes me a sinner. I’m trying, but really I don’t think there’s anything bad about giving into some temptations. Everyone on this planet is a sinner, to some degree.

On the roof I was writing, there were many stacks of paper all used for different purposes. I wrote until the sun was gone, then I went down the stairs and back to my room. I reeked of tobacco, and I felt strange. The crows outside my window are so loud, it seems like there’s always birds in those trees talking to each other.

I listened to the radio for a while while pacing around. I just go in a circle, I talk to myself. Nothing too interesting was playing tonight. Though, I did hear Tina Turner’s new-ish song. I like her. Around 10 PM the whale sounds come on. They’re supposedly broadcast to “aid sleep”. I do think they’re quite serene, but they’re just a hindrance when I’m up late and need something to entertain me. I decided to just go to bed early.

Now, I am laying down, I’ve changed into my pajamas. Most of the time I don’t bother to change out of my clothes, but I’d like to start making an effort to. Tomorrow night I’ll be meeting someone very important, I’m worried I’ll mess things up. I’m still as worrisome as I’ve always been. Remember how I was in school? Little Emery, the smallest in the class. I never talked to anyone but you. I’ve gotten better, I wish you could see. I went to a carnival yesterday, and I talked with the staff. I had a good time.

It pains me that things went the way they did, I still think about my old life very frequently. I’m sorry. I don’t want to cry, I don’t want you to feel responsible either. I hold nothing against you, and I pray every night that we will find each other again. I hope you have found a comfortable life with people who love you. God has always loved you very much, Mirette.


I promise I will be strong. I would want you to be proud.

Bonne nuit, Emery