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Once Upon a Time
There was an island off the coast of France, reedly beautiful Its master – a wealthy old er – lived in a jewel of a ether with his infant son and loyal servants
Realizing that a life of isolation wouldn’t be ideal for a child, the wealthy er began a careful and thorough search of people he could invite to live in his island Those ished for redemption, those whom life had unfairly dealt a bad hand, those ere lonely and had hope and joy stolen from them for all kinds of reasons – these were the people he chose because the wealthy er knew that they would understand his secret
And so letters were sent out, and soon boat after boat sailed into the shalloaters of St Marianne The newcomers elcomed warmly by the servants, taken to their new homes, and shown around the island There was a local school, a well-equipped clinic, a small plaza, and even the promise of an annual feast to celebrate the island’s patron saint, and all of it at the expense of the island’s owner
For dinner, they were all invited to join the li, landscaped garden preceded the mansion, where rows upon rows of the most exquisite winter flowers bloo over a manmade lake whose shiny frozen surface proht
Once inside the h to cast a spellbinding silence over its audience Centuries of breathtaking art and furniture rich in history and priceless in value were all around the rand piano A famous classical piece, but one they couldn’t name, and it made the newcomers feel even more out of depth
Why would a nificent as this, be interested in helping them turn their lives around?
It was the question they all wanted to ask, but none of thee to speak of And when their host finally joined the face, they found themselves a little relieved but even more confused
The host introduced hie, a doctor and a er He then proceeded to regale the, which they all lapped up eagerly even as their curiosity grew and grew As their host entertained theely absent was any presence of wine – or any kind of spirits for that ood doctor had taken a vow of abstinence?
When dessert was served together with coffee, Monsieur Sauvage said ever so mildly, “And now, let me address the questions you have been so courteous to keep to yourselves” There was a brief smile “It only proves that I have chosen well”
The doctor began to tell them of his beloved wife, the only woman he had ever cared for They had only been married for a few months when she had become enceinte Both of them had been surprised but overjoyed, and the doctor more so when they found out it was a boy They would talk for days about the life they would lead, of how happy they would be – but in the end, their words were nothing but words, dreams that would never come true
His wife died delivering their child, and her hardships were such that not even the most skilled physicians could save her from the talons of death Her loss devastated him, but worse was hoas then tormented by the fear that his son would one day leave him, too
As days passed, his fear grew, turning into paranoia, while his grief, deep-seated and inconsolable, turned into insanity The doctor locked hio beyond protecting his son He ht not have been able to save his beloved wife, but by God he would make sure that the same fate would not befall his son
This time, Death would not win, for the doctor would make his son immortal
And so it was one wintry night that the doctor injected his prized creation into the blood of his son As the infant started to cry, the doctor took his child into his ar his baby’s downy head, he whispered, “You have nothing to fear now” The words were true, but in a way that the doctor did not intend
The next day, a terrified screaht fro hard C’est i would never have killed his son It should’ve been the opposite It would have —-