Once again, I can’t appreciate Antlay enough for her wonderful contribution to my blog. ❤❤ This is another highlight in this letter, the return of the diary. Candy had entrusted it to Granduncle William before sneaking out of St. Paul’s Academy. She wanted her adoptive father to read it so that he could understand why she had to quit school, which was against his wish. Many months later, according to Candy’s unsent letter to Terry (supposedly written way before this trip to Lakewood), she had described the diary’s content as shown in Candy Candy Final Story (CCFS) Volume 2, p. 275:
だから、わたしがどんなにテリィのことを……かアルバートさんはわたしくらいよく知っています。
テリィとわたしがどうやって出会ったか、そして、いつの間にか……の、すべてを。
She explained to Terry that Albert had read her personal diary (as per her own request), so Albert knew as much as she did: how much she … Terry. How she had met Terry and little by little how …, everything about it. Yes, Candy intentionally left some words unwritten (words that concern her feelings for Terry). Can’t you see why? Because by then she no longer loved Terry, as shown by how she ended this unsent letter to him… that her strong feelings for him had subsided.
Anyway, why didn’t Albert return the diary to Candy earlier? Why did he do that in such a special place (that particular room in Lakewood)? For your interest, I’ve written a lot about the return of this diary in some other posts (see below). To me it was undeniably an act of unconditional love.
Last but not the least, here in this letter to Albert it is the only time Candy had ever directly mentioned Terry’s name in the entire CCFS epilogue. Even in her letter to Anthony, she just referred to Terry as “a person in London who, at first glance, looked like Anthony”. In short, it’s a silence that speaks volumes. You might argue that Anthony had never met Terry, but Anthony didn’t know Albert either. Anthony only had a vague memory of a young boy by his mother’s side. Yet, Candy spent half of her letter introducing Albert to Anthony. What a contrast!! 💖
Related posts:
Candy’s last letter to Albert (Part 6)
More than words (Part 1)
More than words (Part 2)
A love declaration
Optimistic protagonist
Love Triangle (Part 3)
