Thank you for reading the series Did Candy find her happiness? so far, and I’m glad some of you like my translation shown in Part 4. My friend Yue Chan had the following thought after reading it, which she agreed to let me share:
Hence, thanks for your patience. 🙂 I’m going to show you the rest of my translation of this letter to Anthony in the old CC novel. As before, I have paraphrased some sentences to make it sound like natural English writing. Without further delay, here is the rest of my humble attempt: (I welcome any feedback or correction. Thank you!)
You see, I showed you the badge some time ago, didn’t I? Prince on the Hill, whom I had met on Pony’s Hill in my childhood, had dropped his badge—. Back then you told me only the direct descendant of the Ardlays could own that badge, and yet, I didn’t understand what that implied… That’s right, Albert-san was also Prince on the Hill! Seven Color Mask![1] Consider the multiple roles he’s played, humph!
I actually learned that just recently.
For some reason, Neal’s become interested in me (I should really thank this Neal, for what I have now comes from the fact that he likes me. These two feelings are intricately wrought together that left me somewhat confused…). Since then, Albert-san has taken his time to relate his story to me, so all kinds of mysteries have been revealed and the veils removed.
Anthony, what you said to me was unfinished —
“When I was a small child, the boy who always stood by my mother’s side……”
Those were your last words. (I won’t forget that.)
That boy was Albert-san! Yes, now I finally grasp the meaning. Anthony, the moment I first met you at the rose gate, I mistook you for Prince on the Hill. After all, Anthony, you and Prince on the Hill were close relatives, right?
Having understood all these, I’m filled with longing to meet with you once more. Although I’m aware it’s impossible, Anthony, I want to talk to you one more time, sitting down by the rose gate, standing by the lakeshore……
Very occasionally, Albert-san comes visit me at Pony’s Home. Whenever we bring up stories about you, Stear, and so on, he always gets teary-eyed, no exception.
Albert-san told me he loved his sister, Rosemary — your mother, Anthony — very much. “I could only watch from a distance, and there was nothing I could do for Anthony, Stear and others…” He keeps talking about the same thing over and over.
Ahhhh, Anthony, I can go on forever no matter how much I write, so it’s about time to stop, isn’t it……
But I’d like a reply, even just a little. In Heaven, are the regulations strict?
I’m still the same, as usual. For example, I haven’t grown much, my freckles haven’t come off, and I haven’t recovered from being a tomboy.
However, I’ll be in trouble when someone is peeping at me from Heaven. Therefore, from now on, I think I’ll grow more mature, even a tiny bit.
Wish you good health, Anthony. (Will people in Heaven also get sick?)
Candy
For sure Candy doesn’t mention Terry at all although she mentions Albert-san a lot, but still not as much as the corresponding one in Candy Candy Final story (CCFS). To get an idea, you can read the spoilers in Chapter 27 of the Candy Candy fanfic Amor Aeternus (scroll near the end because it’s the last letter in the epilogue). If you have any insights when comparing the two, in terms of letter contents, timeline, etc., I’d like to hear from you! 😍 Nevertheless, I’ll discuss their differences in my next post. 🙂 You can find this post in Spanish by my friend Yue Chan, and she added more references to CCFS to “¿Candy encontró su felicidad? (Parte 5)”
Footnote: [1] Seven Color Mask (七色仮面 Nanairo Kamen) is the name and main character of a Japanese TV series, broadcast from June 3, 1959 to June 30, 1960. It was about a young detective who was a master of disguise, utilizing seven different personalities. Most of his disguises are odd characters, but his 7th disguise is a caped, golden-masked superhero.