Love Triangle (Part 6)

When I was writing my story “Love Never Fails”, I thought of using Stear’s invention, the music box “Candy Happy Maker”, for the plot, but at last I let the matter drop. Recently, this idea resurfaced in my mind, and I thought perhaps I should share with you all what have been in my head for so long.

Candy Happy Maker is something significant both in the manga and Candy Candy Final Story (CCFS). Some people even said that since Anohito was able to fix Candy Happy Maker with no sweat, this was yet another clue that Anohito was Albert. Because in the manga we can tell that Albert was a handyman, just like his nephew Stear. One example was that Albert repaired Stear’s swan boat in his spare time (when he was bored and got nothing else to do? 😛 ). He told Candy that he had found it in the storage and decided to fix it.

Have we seen Terry repair anything? Not that I remember or know of. Perhaps some of you can tell me? 😉

Anyway, my point is that this music box has an interesting name. Literally, Stear named his new invention “an instrument that makes Candy happy”. He used the same Japanese word I mentioned in an earlier post about my favorite manga scene, 幸せ (しあわ・せ) – happiness. As I already explained before in that post, this word gives more of a feeling of lifelong happiness. For example, to describe someone being happy after receiving a gift, we won’t use this Japanese adjective. But if we mean someone being happy in a marriage, then we will use this adjective. In other words, it’s closer to “joy” or “bliss” in meaning.

In the manga, Stear worked very hard to finish the music box so that he could give it to Candy before she left for New York to see Terry. It was a parting gift from Stear. I suppose Stear was aware that he probably couldn’t come home after his enlistment, and he sincerely wished that Candy would be happy with Terry from now on.

Unfortunately, contrary to what Stear had expected, Candy didn’t get to play his music box until one of the saddest moments in her life — right after she and Terry broke up. In the cold snowy night, she played the music box while walking in the streets. Why was she doing that? To numb her senses or feelings? Or do you think she actually wanted to cheer up herself (to make herself ‘happy’ again)?

When she later collapsed in the train due to high fever, the music box was still on her hand. She had possibly played it over and over until she fainted. Anyway, while she was unconscious, she dreamed of Stear, and she complained to Stear that his new invention had once again “failed”.

Of course we understand what she meant, because even after playing it over and over she still remained dejected. Later, she even got kicked out from the Ardlay’s mansion and returned to her own apartment, to her roommate Albert. She poured her heart out to Albert and told him everything about her miserable trip to New York.

More importantly, Candy couldn’t tell anybody else about why she had to break up with Terry, not even her childhood friend Annie. In CCFS it was very clear that Candy hadn’t told Annie about Susanna’s suicidal attempt at all. But Albert knew. He knew all the details. So you see that Albert was special to Candy, and she treated him as her confidant, as someone she fully trusted.

Then later in CCFS, after discovering Albert’s true identity, Candy decided to return to Pony’s Home. Some time elapsed, and she wrote to Stear again about Archie’s engagement. She talked animatedly about Archie and Annie, and how Albert saved the day. Because of his position and authority, Albert as the family head granted Archie and Annie a ‘happy ending’. Their engagement ceremony would go ahead without any more opposition from the relatives or family.

Interestingly, Candy told Stear in this letter:

You ask me if I am happy? Of course!
Because I have “Candy happy maker”.
I’m very surprised that it works so well, I knew you were a splendid inventor!

What do you think Candy meant? Did she find happiness somehow? With her new life at Pony’s Home? Her new career? With another man?

To me, the moment Candy started playing the music box that lonely night in New York, it actually ‘began to work’. Yes, Candy had sadly broken up with Terry, but she began a new life with no more influence from Terry. She gradually became strong and independent, and many months later, even when she saw Terry in Rockstown, she wasn’t interested in chasing after him again (see ‘Second Farewell‘ for details). In short, Terry no longer had control over her. Instead, Candy wanted to find Albert, and she spent the following day looking for him all over that small town.

As a matter of fact, in CCFS, ever since Candy had returned to Chicago from New York, Albert actually became the center of her life, even though he had vanished for some time. Yet, after their reunion in Lakewood, she almost always mentioned ‘Albert’ or ‘Uncle William’ in her letters to various people, either serious or joking, even in her unsent letter to Terry!! Can you believe that? 😉

Isn’t it obvious who occupied Candy’s mind all the time by then? Hence, I believe Candy meant that she was happy with Albert when she told Stear that his music box surprisingly worked so well. 😀 Thank you for reading. For your interest, this is Part 7.