Review Responses!

Visualpurple: You'll see, he'll soon realize that it wasn't "just a relative". For some reason, Jacques was really concerned about Quigley and the others. I want Mr. Handler to tie in somewhere. And yes, dying sux…

C-C Krystal: Yes, indeed. Poor Lemony. Things will never be the same again.

Aroura Blackrose: Well, getting grounded isn't good! Is your grounding over yet?

Chapter 29 – Reminiscing About a Lost Love

Lemony had to leave New York. He didn't know how he would do this, but by hook or by crook, he would make it back to England.

Before going back to the docks, however, he dropped by the café for the last time. As usual, Daniel Handler was sitting in the corner booth, waving at him. Mr. Handler, a perceptive man, knew that there was something wrong with his new friend as soon as he sat down. After ordering Lemony a drink, he made him explain what was going on.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Daniel asked, after he heard Lemony explain his situation. His voice was full of concern.

"Sorry," replied Lemony. "These unfortunate events seem to follow me wherever I go, and I can't, in good conscience, get you involved."

"Please, Lemony," Daniel begged. "Isn't there anything I could do?"

Lemony stood up and turned away. "I don't want you to get hurt like the others." He paused for a second and added one more thing. "I'll let you know if anything happens to me while I'm gone, but I have to go now. The ship I'm leaving on is notorious for leaving at odd hours."

As Lemony left, Daniel noticed a small tear running down Lemony's face. As his friend walked away, Daniel called out, "Be careful," but by then, Lemony Snicket had already walked out the door.

Luckily for Lemony, the ship he would travel in, the Prospero, was still friendly and had waited for him to arrive. As soon as he got on board, he was ushered to his cabin by a friendly sailor who gave him hurried instructions on the way.

"Did'ja know we're the only big ship left in VFD?" he asked Lemony as they walked. "All the others've sunk or disappeared. You've been gone for a while, but during your absence, the organization has really gone to the dogs, if 'ya know what I mean." Seeing Lemony gazing off into the distance, he continued. "While you're here, though, just remember: even if someone has the eye on their ankle, it doesn't mean they're a friend."

After a second of silence, the sailor sensed that this was a touchy subject and decided to talk about something else that he had been discussing with the other volunteers shortly before Lemony's arrival. "Y'know," he remarked hesitantly, "We were talkin' earlier… 'bout your friends, that is… and we were wonderin' where those Baudelaire kids are going. Lots of people are going t'be after those kids, since their parent's are gonna be leavin' them a big fortune and all. Who is this relative that they're going to be staying with?"

For this, Lemony was surprised to realize that he didn't have an answer. Upon entering the small, cramped cabin that he had stayed in on his previous crossing, he took out his letter from Jacques and saw that even his brother didn't know the Baudelaires' location, and decided to make sure Dorian and Sarah's children were safe as soon as he could.

After a few days of sailing over the Atlantic with the crew of brave volunteers, Lemony had a chance to see his old home, the VFD headquarters, once again. Although he was hidden so that the people on land could not see him, he was able to see that building that he had lived in for so many years of his life.

He could see the kitchen window where he had chopped vegetables alongside Beatrice years ago as well as the mountain paths along Mount Fraught where he had hiked with the Baudelaire and Quagmire parents and picnicked with Beatrice when he was sure that she loved him too. Now those days seemed like a dream; a distant memory.

Sighing, he sat down and looked once again at the contents of the package that Jacques had sent him via carrier pigeons along with that fateful letter. It was a bundle of charred papers that Kit had rescued from a drawer in Beatrice's room. They seemed to be some sort of letter from what he was able to decipher, a word which here means "read, although large sections of it were charred and unreadable." He took out the page that he had been keeping in his coat pocket since that day.

All he could read was just a few words, which he could only assume was meant for him.

Dear… I'm sorry, but I can't… with you. I really lov-… and I just can't be with you after all.

That page had told him what he had suspected before and made him tear up every time he read it. She must not have loved me… But I still love her.

Dramatic irony is a device found in works of fiction as well as many real-life situations. It happens when a protagonist, such as Lemony Snicket, doesn't know something that readers or ordinary onlookers know. Usually, dramatic irony is a sad thing, because it makes people wish they could jump into the book and inform the character about something in order to prevent a terrible thing from happening, which, unfortunately, is impossible task. One of the most famous examples is from my esteemed colleague, Mr. Shakespeare, who, like myself, is often believed to be somebody else and has a commonly misspelled name. During tragic his play, Romeo and Juliet, many people find themselves wanting to jump into the book, into their television set, or out of their box seats in the theater to prevent Romeo from killing himself, because they know that Juliet isn't really dead after all. I have often cried late at night, wanting to go back in time so I could tell Lemony that the letter was not meant for him, but instead to her fiancée, Paul, to tell him that she had to cancel their engagement. But the tears of a poor author are not enough to save Lemony from the grief that was to come.