With love and gratitude (Part 3)

As mentioned in my previous posts “With love and gratitude (Part 1)” and “With love and gratitude (Part 2)”, Candy’s last letter to Albert was the second last letter in the epilogue of Candy Candy Final Story (CCFS). Her final letter was written in her mind to Anthony (in Heaven?). Right after that, Candy was abruptly brought back to the present (in her 30s) when her husband with no name (simply referred to as Anohito, which means “that person”) came home to find her sitting alone in the dark.

He flipped the lights on and gently asked her, “You were in the dark. What’s the matter with you, Candy?”

Though he was concerned, he was smiling at her by the door. Candy described that she loved his gentle voice and his smile, and she got up from her chair and happily ran into his outstretched arms. (Doesn’t this sound very familiar to those who have read the manga?)

This is how the epilogue of CCFS ends. So what exactly is an epilogue?

Readers are often curious about what happens to the characters after the narrative ends. An epilogue serves to satisfy this curiosity, leaving the reader informed and/or fulfilled, by giving a glimpse into the future of the main characters after the story is concluded. Therefore, epilogues often hint at a possible sequel or wrap up all the loose ends. Sometimes an epilogue may be as long as an entire chapter in a book, and in some cases, an epilogue has been used to allow the main characters a chance to “speak freely” (though an epilogue can continue in the same narrative style and perspective as the preceding story).

There are many examples in the literature. For your interest, you can read some famous works in http://grammar.about.com/od/e/g/Epilogue.htm

Back to CCFS epilogue, it mostly contains the letter correspondence between Candy and Albert, beginning with her response to the shocking discovery that Albert was in fact her Prince on the Hill. This is similar to the ending of the manga although in CCFS the way he disclosed the truth was quite different.

Albert then replied to Candy explaining why he had postponed till now, and in her reply to him she further described in details how he had come to reveal his last secret to her on Pony’s Hill. After that, their letters tell us more about who Albert really was, including his lonely childhood and why he had to hide his true identity etc. Apparently, the author Mizuki wanted to tie some loose ends in the epilogue, letting both Candy and Albert talk freely and honestly to each other about themselves.

Then in the last letter between them, Terry’s name finally appeared, and his name was brought up not because Candy had any interaction with him but because Albert decided to return Candy’s diary to the rightful owner (see my previous posts). After this, Candy didn’t mention Terry again, and even in her letter to Anthony later she avoided using Terry’s name though she was talking about having met him in London. Yet she spent some time introducing Albert to Anthony, telling Anthony various things about his uncle. The author Mizuki essentially concluded her CCFS in the epilogue who was most important to Candy by then.

On top of all that, before Candy ended her letter to Albert with love and gratitude, she told Albert that she had determined to return her precious diary to him, and she said,

I am — very grateful to my parents who have abandoned me at the Pony’s Home.
Thanks to that, I could meet you!

Now, what did Candy really mean?

Note that everything above concerning CCFS is from spoilers. I will talk more in Part 4. Please stay tuned. 🙂