4 Family (music)

It's midnight, we are in Trondheim, in the small country of Norway. The rain is pouring as it always does in Trondheim. It's cold, so cold the fog could suffocate a rat to death. The moon is hidden by the clouds outside, leaving the eerie yellow street lights to illuminate the foggy night.

From afar, one can see a lighted window among the many dark ones. The blinds are wide open, music seems to be playing inside. A beautiful melody that pulls at the heartstrings.

Et pour qu'elle puisse encore chanter - [And so that she can still sing]

Les chansons de notre bohème - [the songs of our Bohemia]

Je construirai un silence - [I shall build a silence]

Plus grand que ceux des cathédrales - [greater than those from the cathedrals]

It seems cosy and warm as if time stopped inside. But contrarily to what it looks like from outside of the window, this small studio is desolate. It was deserted in a hurry, the music continues coldly as if to remind the silly ones that time doesn't stop for anyone, and that time doesn't care about anyone.

J'irai réveiller les amants - [I will go wake up the lovers]

Je parlerai des heures entières - [I shall speak hours on end]

Et je sais qu'ils me suivront - [And I know they will follow me]

Tant que nous resterons amants - [as long as we stay lovers]

A laptop was roughly thrown on the side, a half-filled cup of herbal tea not too far from it. The cup stopped fuming long ago. A book has been resting on the stand for a while now. On the sofa still lingers the smell of light perfume and lipstick mixed with cologne and shaving cream.

Alors on se promènera - [And so we will promenade]

Tous ensemble on dansera - [Together we shall dance]

D'incroyables sarabandes - [incredible sarabands]

Et elle oubliera sa peine - [and she will forget her pain]

A couple of kilometres from here, inside a green bus with a number 7 flashing at the front, stands a man. His face is red and intimidating. His icy frown seems to want to pull the snow out of the shy clouds of spring. Seats are available but he tensely stands close to the door. His eyes seem to tell the bus driver to hurry before he jumps on the wheel and drives himself. Trondish drivers never seem to pass the speed limit. It's a good thing since there are rarely any car accidents because of it, but it differs too much from New York for Chad. Everything is so slow and calm, so much so that every time he hears a drunkard's scream on the streets, he revels in the familiarity.

Et pour que la ville danse - [And so that the city dances]

Et pour que la ville chante - [And so that the city sings]

On inventera des couleurs - [We will invent new colors]

Et elle oubliera ses larmes - [and she will forget her tears]

When the bus finally opens its doors, Chad jumps out running, the weird looks he had been receiving ever since he got onto the bus follows him until he becomes too out of reach for the eyes, but not out of reach for the gossip of the town folks.

Chad enters the hospital feeling like his heart is about to rip out of his chest. The staff leads him to the waiting room and everything else seems like a blur.

Nous irons dans les campagnes - [We will go to the countrysides]

Pour cueillir les fleurs des champs - [to pick up the wildflowers]

Pour en faire un grand lit blanc - [to make them into a big white bed]

Où l'on s'aime tendrement - [where we love each other tenderly]

Marguerite is in the hospital room getting reanimated. Chad is anxiously waiting with the other family members and friends. He is busy blaming himself in the corner even though he doesn't know what happened. The doctor had explained to him the condition of his lover, but his mind was rushing too much for him to understand anything. The only thing he caught was the word "stroke". So he guessed that she had a stroke.

After a few minutes, or hours, or years, the doctor finally gives him some good news.

"She is fine now"

Chad breathes out in relief, only now realizing how hard it was for him to breathe. He makes the sign of the cross and genuinely thanks God for the safety of Marguerite.

The doctor doesn't let him in before asking him a few questions;

"Has your girlfriend been outside of Norway in the past twelve months?"

"I think she went to Spain once."

"Then I would politely ask you to please put on this face mask and this gown."

"Why?"

"Safety measures."

"What does that mean?"

"We have to make sure any illnesses that might subsist in Spain do not spread into the country of Norway."

"..."

Sceptical but compliant, Chad puts on the gown and face mask with a mildly infuriated heart. He enters the room where she was transferred to and sits down on the chair. Marguerite is awake, she looks at him with a smile, but there is a tinge of fear and apprehension in her expression.

The man takes her hand in his and asks her what happened.

"I went to see my father, but unfortunately he wasn't there. I couldn't reach him on the phone so I decided to go home. But I suddenly blacked out."

Chad asks a few more questions and makes sure she is ok before finally calming down. But that's when he notices something wrong with the way his lover looks at him.

"Is there something you want to tell me?"

"Eh..."

Et puis nous irons au fond du ciel - [And then we'll go to the bottom of the sky]

Pour lui choisir une étoile - [to choose for her a star]

Parc'que Marguerite est bonne - [because Marguerite is good]

Parc'que Marguerite est belle - [because Marguerite is beautiful]

Chad questions her with his eyes and Marguerite suddenly becomes awkward and fidgety.

"I thought the doctor told you."

Chad is still extremely confused by her behaviour. He only ever saw her act like that when he began courting her for the first time years ago.

"I know you said... that you wish for us to build a family one day..."

Parc'que Marguerite est vraie - [because Marguerite is true]

Parc'que Marguerite est douce - [because Marguerite is soft]

Parc'que Marguerite m'aime - [because Marguerite loves me]

Moi, je ne vis que pour elle - [me, I only live for her]

Chad still has a hard time guessing the problem, and his girlfriend is not helping. She seems almost in tears as she refuses to look him in the eye. Chad quizzes her hand as an encouraging sign to continue.

"The doctor... I..."

Marguerite starts to borderline cry and Chad doesn't know what to do with himself. He takes her in his arms and tries to soothe her by whispering calm words in her ears. In the end, Marguerite doesn't find the courage to tell him. Therefore he has to wait for her to fall asleep before going outside with the doctor to get an explanation.

"... she is no longer capable of bearing any children, ..."

Marguerite est ma raison - [Marguerite is my sense]

Mon lendemain, mon idéal - [my tomorrow, my ideal]

Marguerite qui est le vent - [Marguerite who is the wind]

Ne sait pas qu'elle peut me faire mal - [doesn't know that she can hurt me]

The doctor said many things. But the only thing that registered in his mind was this one sentence, repeating over and over again in his head as if to curse him.

<She is no longer capable of bearing any children>

He can almost hear the image of his little kids running along with his wife shattering into million pieces, and scattering onto the cold hard floor where he lays. Chad doesn't realize that he is now sitting on a chair outside the hospital room and that the doctor left. He stays without moving for a while.

Parc'que Marguerite est celle - [Because Marguerite is the one]

Que je veux toujours près de moi - [that I always want near me]

Marguerite est Marguerite - [Marguerite is Marguerite]

Marguerite est tout pour moi - [Marguerite is everything to me]

Chad leans the back of his head on the wall behind and exhales, his eyes closed.

Marguerite est tout pour moi - [Marguerite is everything to me]