The day her life changed (Part 3)

This picture, Illustrated by Yumiko Igarashi, was captured from Volume II of the old Candy Candy novel, the novelization of the manga version, published on 24/11/1978.

This is the first page to introduce Chapter II of the old CC novel. The poem was written by the author of Candy Candy, Keiko Nagita (名木田 恵子), her official name being Kyoko Mizuki. (Thanks again to the admin of the Facebook page, William Albert Andrew (el príncipe de la colina) for the information.)

風のなかで

風ガすき
風のなかには　いつも　大すきなひとが
ゆれているから

風ガすき　風の声がすき
ほら　 聞こえてくる
なつかしいひとの呼び声がーーー

The poem is not easy to translate, and here is my attempt:

In the wind

I like the wind,
because the person I always like very much is swaying in the wind

I like the wind, I like the sound of the wind
Listen, I can hear the voice of my dear long-term friend calling me—-

I suppose this was written from Candy’s perspective of Albert. She said “the person I always like very much”, using 大すき “dai-suki”, which can be translated to “love very much” or “highly desirable” depending on the context. 🙂

Please bear in mind that Candy had always liked Albert. Remember how elated she was to see him in London? 🙂 In Candy Candy Final Story (CCFS), Candy also used 大すき “dai-suki” for Anthony (verbally) and later for Terry (in her diary) about her strong feelings for these two. Please read A love declaration for your interest. 😀

But why do I think this is about Albert, not the other way around? Well, the clue is the term なつかしいひと in the last line, which I have tried to translate it to “my dear long-term friend” (please click the link for other examples). It means a person who brings back fond memories, a person who gives you a nostalgic feeling, or a person whom you haven’t seen for a long time. Apparently, Candy referred to Albert here, plausibly with the pleasant feeling of nostalgia. He had lost everything around this time, including his memory, so he had no idea who she was, let alone their past. 🙁

In any case, Candy liked Albert very much just because he was Albert, not because he looked like someone else. She wasn’t even aware he was her prince. The fact that the Scottish teenager was actually Albert in his youth only brought her back to her first love, a full circle. 🙂

Come to think of it, if the incident of a mysterious boy appearing to little Candy was negligible, the author, Mizuki, could have removed this plot in CCFS. It suffices to write how young Candy left Pony’s Home to become a playmate for Eliza and Neil and later adopted by a very wealthy but generous man, William A. Ardlay, who sent Candy to London to study in a strict boarding school. On her way there, she met the love of her life, Terry the rebel, etc.

Do you see what I mean? 🙂 😉

Since Candy is the main protagonist of the story, if Terry is the other most crucial character of the story, then don’t you think Mizuki should have written a lot more about Terry after the heart-wrenching breakup in a New York hospital? Yes, we read through different letters, Susanna’s obituary, and Candy’s retrospection that Terry suffered from his own decision to choose Susanna over Candy, survived the bottomless pit of grief in Rockstown, returned to Susanna’s side to keep his promise to her, emerged as a famous actor in Broadway, and helped Susanna through her grave illness as her fiancé. Yet, none of these had much to do with Candy, as if Terry had been sidelined by the author. Even during Candy’s trip to Rockstown, when she stumbled across him, she didn’t “show her face”. Would Terry ever find out from his mother that Candy was physically there but chose not to approach him at all? 🙄

At any rate, after the breakup, the focus was shifted to the Ardlay’s family and Candy’s relationship with Albert and her friends. More importantly, we readers can see Candy’s firm resolve to get over Terry. Candy wrote explicitly to his mother, Miss Eleanor Baker, that Candy hadn’t really gone to Rockstown for her son. Also, Candy had tried not to read his news, and if possible, she would avoid seeing Terry again (because of her promise to Susanna). That was why Candy turned down Miss Baker’s invitation to see Hamlet (please read Optimistic protagonist for more). Guess what, I can’t shake off the feeling that Candy was indirectly reminding Miss Baker that her son was supposed to be with Susanna. 😉 In the manga, the two were already engaged to be married around then, but in CCFS it was unclear when exactly they got engaged and how long they had lived together.

Besides, Candy wrote a letter to Terry (not intending to send it to him), in which Candy said she was happy now and both Susanna and Terry were wonderful people, as though it was her reply to his brief but ambiguous letter, that unlike him, she had changed and moved on in her life. Not to mention that Candy added, “Terry… I loved you.” at the end of this unsent letter. 😯 For your interest, please read the last few paragraphs in Peculiar Relationship Chapter 7 for my recent analysis of this letter from Terry.

To put things into perspective, if Terry ultimately played an important part in Candy’s life, shouldn’t Mizuki write something to leave a hint (or more) that Candy would eventually reunite with Terry? For example, Mizuki might write that Terry, finally free of obligations, made up his mind to track down Candy at all cost (so as to reconcile with her). Or, Mizuki could write that Candy left everything behind and went to New York to find Terry after reading Susanna’s obituary. Yet, we don’t read anything remotely like this from CCFS.

On the contrary, Terry’s name is hardly ever mentioned in the entire epilogue, except when Albert returned Candy’s old diary to her. Even then, Candy wrote to Albert afterwards that she hadn’t opened the diary at all, which was essentially her story with Terry. Once again, actions speak louder than words, and this proved that Candy had stuck to her decision to leave Terry in her past.

No matter how you look at it, Prince on the Hill is no doubt the center of attention in the epilogue, which is mainly about Candy’s responses to his confession, his heartfelt letters and his actions. If Albert’s role in Candy’s life was merely her guardian or benefactor, why did Mizuki make him lose all his memory and live with Candy for so long? Also, why did Mizuki tell us in detail about Albert’s growing pain, his frustrations in life, and his feelings and deep gratitude for Candy?  😐

To me, the answers can be found in the last two letters from Candy in the epilogue. I’ll continue in Part 4. 🙂

If you like to refresh your memory, please read Part 1 or Part 2. 😀