11:42 am

Marie Claire

When my family moved to France when I was eight, we moved to a town outside of Paris called Poissy. We lived on a small island on the River Seine which had what I remember to have about 20 houses on it. What I remember most is our neighbor, I believe he name was Marie Claire. She was nice and funny and had two dogs Edgar and Charlie.

Something popped into my mind today though, Edgar went away after he bit a child. My mother told me that Edgar was sent to a farm in the country with no children to retire after it happened. Edgar must have been put down but in my naive state as a child I believed it. I am grateful my mother said that to me though, I think it was shortly after my cat died and I don’t think I could have handled another of the animals I loved dying.

I don’t know why he turned mean, maybe he was just old and crank but Marie Claire was always a wonderful person in my memory, her son was nice to, I think he was in his twenties. Though the memory is a little foggier I think my dad, my brother and I carpooled with her to work and school for awhile. I remember she use to hate driving behind big trucks because she thought they were going to hit the ceiling of the tunnels we drove through. Her fear made us tease her but she took it well.

I don’t remember much about myself at that age I use to have a picture of me in a garden surrounded by flowers but I do not know where it is. School sucked, boys were gross and I loved France and my dog and cat. I do not remember much else about Marie Claire either other then tall, think and middle aged but I remember her kindness. The world needs more kindness like that.

EDIT: I even partly forgot her name, correction to that, it was Marie-Claude.

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