A memorable embrace

Have any of you watched the movie, The Time Traveler’s Wife? I enjoyed watching it, and it actually brought tears to my eyes at some points. Anyway, (SPOILER ALERT) near the end of the movie, the main heroine was told that her husband had returned, and he was waiting for her. She immediately ran across the field, sprinting towards him desperately. When she was close enough, she made a leap and flung her arms around his neck like a vice. He returned her embrace of course, and this was a touching scene because their love for each other was so strong and undeniable.

When I was watching the above scene, I couldn’t help remembering the last few pages of the Candy Candy manga, in which Candy, with a wide grin on her face, was dashing towards her Prince on the Hill. He smiled ear to ear but remained at his spot with his arms outstretched, beckoning her to come to him. That was the end, and for a long time I have been quite exasperated why their embrace wasn’t shown. Rumors said that Igarashi had indeed drawn it but Mizuki decided to remove it for unknown reason.

Perhaps Mizuki wanted us readers to envision how Albert and Candy embraced each other after such an important confession from him? In fact, they had hugged each other again and again in the manga, but this “embrace” at the end was the most anticipated one after all.

On the other hand, Terry and Candy had not shared as many hugs, but their last one in which he held her from the back was truly unforgettable. I actually shed some tears when I first read this part in the manga. It was heart-wrenching to say the least, and I felt their pain to have chosen this path.

In a sense, it’s unfortunate that we had to imagine our own version of the emotional embrace of Albert and Candy at the end of the manga. However, in Candy Candy Final Story (CCFS), Mizuki changed the confession scene. Based on the spoilers, it seems that Albert and Candy didn’t hug each other after the confession. Instead of smiling, Candy even sobbed uncontrollably, and Albert had moist eyes too. I will talk more about this in a future post, but for now, I want to talk about a poignant yet romantic embrace between them in CCFS epilogue.

From Candy’s last letter to Albert in the epilogue, we know that he had paid her a surprise visit (again!!) after his business trip to São Paulo, taking her all the way to Lakewood from Pony’s Home. I don’t know how long the drive was (could be hours), but Candy said it had been a lovely drive, seeing lots of wildflowers on their way.

After walking around Lakewood with Albert, Candy wanted to revisit the forest where Anthony had had his accident years ago. Perhaps she had wanted to do that with Albert, who could give her strength? Otherwise, she probably wouldn’t be able to go back on her own, not knowing the land as well as Albert. This also implies that he knew exactly where his young nephew had breathed his last. Do you think someone had been following them in secret back then? And that someone had reported the accident either to Albert or Madam Elroy afterwards. After all, Candy had fainted almost right away, and they had isolated themselves from the others during the fox hunting.

Anyway, in Candy’s own words, she described the forest as follows (from spoilers):

The grassland edged by wild rose was filled with full bloomed bluebell. The afternoon sunlight falling onto the grassland was twinkling like the border between this life and eternity …
It was so beautiful that I found myself crying.

So they reached the forest in the afternoon, and basking in the sunlight, the place was enchanting. To give you an idea of what a forest filled with blooming bluebells looks like, I downloaded a picture from one of the Windows 8 themes.

What an amazing sight, isn’t it? Here is another breathtaking picture of a forest covered with bluebells. Now, can you imagine the grassland edged with wild roses too? With such a view, wasn’t the setting romantic? 😉

As a side note, bluebells are Spring flowers. According to Wikipedia, they usually wither before early summer. Therefore, it’s highly likely that Albert and Candy went to such a beautiful place in late spring or early summer.

Anyway, soon after they arrived, Candy cried, recalling how Anthony had died. You see that Candy was completely comfortable with Albert? Terry had forced her to forget Anthony, remember? But how could she forget him, especially he had a tragic death? But Albert never pushed her. There was no need for Candy to hide her feelings and anguish about Anthony’s death in front of Albert.

When Candy began to cry and blamed herself for the accident, Albert tenderly pulled her into his arms. In one of my old posts, The Same Anguish, I already talked about this scene in detail, so I won’t repeat myself here. However, based on what she later wrote to him in her letter, “I’m sorry I cried so hard on your chest. I made a mess of your fine shirt.”, I believe he locked her in his arms while she buried her face in his chest, sobbing aloud. Doesn’t this seem very familiar? Candy had done the same thing after coming back from New York, totally heart-broken. Who had helped her smile again after that? Albert. Who else? 😉

So, Albert and Candy were all alone in this captivatingly beautiful forest without any prying eyes for a while. We are not told how long this embrace lasted, but through that experience Candy was finally healed. Despite Terry’s best efforts, Candy hadn’t forgotten Anthony, nor had she been able to forgive herself for ‘causing’ Anthony’s death. However, this time, she let go at long last and accepted that it was nobody’s fault. She said, “Since then, I feel I was given a new life. Albert-san, thank you very much!” Not long after that visit in the forest, she could “talk” to Anthony in her mind for the first time since his accident, and she even talked a lot about Albert, introducing his young uncle to him. 🙂

What a contrast this healing embrace was when compared to the heartbreaking one she had shared with Terry! Together, Albert and Candy shared a memorable embrace in a charming forest for who knows how long, and I think it was an experience that neither of them would ever forget in the future.