Letters from the Dead: Introductions
May 15, 1974
Dear Friend,
A dear friend of mine once told me that the best way to remember things is to write it down. It seems appropriate to start this now, now that my life has begun a new chapter, if you can relate a book to a human life. Which, in all sanity, seems odd, but in this case, I think it's called for.
I don't know why I am doing this; there really is no point. I'm going to remember this day, and I'm sure it won't be hard.
After it's all said and done, I am getting married tomorrow, my dear Friend. I am twenty-one and I am going to be married.
His name is Sigmund Holmes. He is minor politician whom my father took under his wing when he entered the world of British politics. Apparently he shows great promise; otherwise my father would not have taken such an interest in my fiancée. The Holmes family is a family friend of ours – I grew up with Sigmund and his younger sister, Eleanor, who is my age. Sigmund is four years my senior, so, twenty-five.
I guess it won't be so hard to marry him. He's alright bloke, though rather ordinary looking. Not a pretty face, but not an ugly one either. Tall, very very tall, with unremarkable blue eyes and dull brown hair.
Friend, would you understand that I've been dreading this day?
I'm still in university, and I still have a long way to go before graduating. I'm trying to get a degree in the sciences. Chemistry and Biology. And I don't have much time to do anything but study.
How I'm still going to be able to study and still be a wife is going to be interesting, and will be one of the first real conversations I have with him once we've tied the knot.
Of course, there will be the discussion of children. I dread that conversation more than the discussion of my education, for reasons of my own. I know, you're curious, but not now. If this is discovered before my wedding … I cannot have anyone knowing what has happened to me in the past. Not even you. I hope you understand.
I must go. I hear my mother, and if she finds this, most likely it will be burned and my pen and paper taken from me until after the wedding.
Much love,
Violet Lecomte-Vernet, soon to be Violet Holmes