Inspired by Johan Barthold Jongkind (1819 – 1891) – Honfleur’s harbour entrance (1864) – Black stone / Watercolour – 6,49 x 10,43

As Michel closes the front door of his house that morning, he doesn’t have a clue whether he will ever come back or not. Madeleine is quietly waiting in the car, passenger seat. Her look is empty and her mind wanders. She’s elsewhere.The doctor’s diagnosis of yesterday afternoon meant the sudden end of an everyday life. It had been a couple of months since Michel had noticed some little changes in his wife’s behaviour. But in his view, it seemed merely anecdotal. The memory slipped more and more frequently and it began to worry the recently retired man: leaving the lights on, keeping the front door unlocked, leaving the gas turned on, burning off food, locking the cat in the toilets for several hours. All these little everyday things may seem insignificant but may quickly become tragic.

Alzheimer, what a funny name, it almost seems like a curse. But Michel refuses to accept this as inevitable and intends to do his best to bring his Madeleine back into this world.

It’s a long way from Colmar to Honfleur. They have plenty of time, no hurry. All this things pass through Michel’s mind as he drives carefully on the main road. This is there he proposed, in this little restaurant on the quay, facing the harbour. They had seafood. The oysters were delicious. He remembers like it was yesterday. And then during dessert, a Baked Alaska, her favorite, he kneeled, freed the ring of a little box, a white and clear stone and … she broke out in tears, softly, and she … A tear rolls down his cheek, Michel is so sensitive. Within less than two hours and they will finally arrive at this little mansion that has witnessed their very first time.

At last, Michel carries the luggage in the bedroom, the one they slept in forty-two years ago. He privately asks the receptionist to keep an eye on his wife, sitting in the hall on a comfortable chair flipping through a woman’s magazine. She loves it!

He quickly gets down the stairs, catches Madeleine’s hand and despite her protests, he drags her out towards the harbour.

A boat is there, a few meters from the beach, it’s undoubtedly a fisherman, Madeleine suddenly stares Michel, a flash in her eyes. She has returned, at last …