I’ve been very busy lately, and I don’t have much time to write Part 8, and yet this post is meant to be a supplement to Candy and Prince on the Hill (Part 7), in which I showed you Candy’s near outburst after discovering Albert’s true identity in Lakewood. Judging from Candy’s retrospection, I believe she was at a loss of what to say to his teasing retort to her blame. I can almost imagine how her jaw dropped upon hearing that he’d rather she look more like a grownup than his little sister. 😉
Then Candy suddenly shifted the focus of her recollections from this particular exchange to her reflection concerning her relationship with Albert. She began a new paragraph with a few words, 兄と妹。( Brother and sister.) She then talked about how they had been living together, pretending to be siblings. As time had passed, she began to realize he held a special place somewhere in her heart, and she was aware that living with a real family member wasn’t the same. Near the end of that reflection, Candy wondered how Albert had felt… About what? 🙄
Guess what? Candy left that sentence hanging without elaborating it, as though she let her readers imagine what was on her mind. 😉 Then she abruptly ended her reflection by saying that he’s really driving her crazy (in present tense! 😀 ). Please read Argh, he’s driving me crazy … for more details about this short but significant paragraph in Candy Candy Final Story (CCFS).
Why is it significant? Well, it’s the evidence that Candy’s feelings for Albert had evolved! ❤ ❤ By the time he had disappeared in her life, he was no longer merely a friend who had rescued her from drowning in the waterfall.
In the manga, we got to see how much Candy missed Albert and wanted to look for him, but how about her friends? We don’t know, but in CCFS, Candy had highly likely asked her friends to help her find Albert too. On P. 243 of CCFS Vol 2, it shows Archie’s urgent note to warn Candy about Neil, in which Archie ended his note with the following:
アルバートさんのことは、ぼくたちも捜している。あまり心を痛めないで。
Archie wrote that “We are also looking for Albert. Do not let your heart be troubled too much.”
Perhaps Archie figured Albert was more than capable of taking care of himself, so Archie was concerned that Candy had worried too much. Sigh… After all, she was only human, and after living together for so long, how could she feel absolutely nothing about her handsome and kind roommate? 🙄 😮
Right after this urgent note from Archie, Candy in her 30s described her puzzlement regarding Neil’s sudden interest in marrying her back then. Even now in her 30s she still found it unbelievable. Then, after talking a bit about the forced engagement, Candy opened a new paragraph and wrote that (CCFS Vol 2, P. 244):
けれど、わたしはニールに感謝しなくてはならないのだ。
そんなニールの気まぐれのおかげで、ジョルジュ
が大おじさまに背いてくれた。
わたしを救うために、大おじさまの居場所を教えてくれた。
However, I have to gratefully thank Neil. Thanks to Neil’s whim, George disobeyed Granduncle for me, telling me Granduncle’s whereabouts in order to rescue me.
Years later, with hindsight, Candy was grateful to Neil for his capricious desire. Have you ever wondered why? 🙂
It’s not like Candy would never see Albert again back then. I suppose he would eventually show up, don’t you think? 😉 Yet, I believe before he could appear to her as her legal guardian, he had to sort out his feelings for her first. As I have explained before, he was in love with her, and that was why he couldn’t bring himself to tell her the truth, at least not yet. See Conflicting emotions if you like. 🙂
But because of Neil, Candy could reunite with Albert before Albert could get over her. It was a matter of timing, and Candy was indeed grateful. Her letter to George also indicated that. I’ll talk more later. Thanks for reading, everyone! Have a wonderful weekend, my friends! ❤ ❤
