Un message pour Hélène

Story

Lucie arrive chez Hélène un beau jour. Elle a quelque chose à dire. Hélène le voit tout de suite sur son visage. "J'ai une nouvelle pour toi," dit Lucie. "Mais toi, tu dois rester calme."

Lucie arrives at Helene's place one fine day. She has something to say. Helene sees it straight away on her face. "I have some news for you," says Lucie. "But you, you must stay calm."

Hélène la regarde. Elle sait déjà de qui Lucie veut parler. Entre elles, il n'y a qu'un seul nom comme ça. Mais Lucie ne dit pas ce nom. Elle dit juste "lui".

Helene looks at her. She already knows who Lucie wants to talk about. Between them, there is only one name like that. But Lucie does not say that name. She just says "him".

"Je l'ai vu," dit Lucie. "Lui. Il m'a parlé de toi. Longtemps. Il pense encore à toi, Hélène. J'en suis sûre."

"I saw him," says Lucie. "Him. He talked to me about you. For ages. He still thinks about you, Helene. I'm sure of it."

Hélène ne dit rien. Elle pense à lui. Depuis des mois, elle veut ne plus y penser. Mais elle y pense toujours. "Qu'est-ce qu'il a dit ?" demande-t-elle enfin.

Helene says nothing. She thinks about him. For months, she has wanted to put it out of her mind. But she still thinks about it. "What did he say?" she asks at last.

"Il a dit qu'il a eu peur," dit Lucie. "Peur de toi, peur de lui, peur de tout. Mais maintenant, il croit qu'il a fait une erreur. Il veut te voir. Qu'est-ce que tu en penses, toi ?"

"He said he was afraid," says Lucie. "Afraid of you, afraid of himself, afraid of everything. But now, he believes he made a mistake. He wants to see you. What do you think about it, you?"

Hélène a mal. Elle connaît bien cette histoire. Avec lui, c'est toujours la même chose. Il part, il revient. Il revient, il part. "Non," dit-elle. "Je n'y crois plus. Lui et moi, c'est fini."

Helene hurts. She knows this story well. With him, it is always the same thing. He leaves, he comes back. He comes back, he leaves. "No," she says. "I don't believe in it any more. Him and me, it's over."

"Hélène," dit Lucie. "Écoute-moi. Toi, tu dis ça. Mais entre nous, je te connais. Tu l'aimes encore. Lui aussi, il t'aime. J'en suis sûre."

"Helene," says Lucie. "Listen to me. You, you say that. But between us, I know you. You still love him. He loves you too. I'm sure of it."

Hélène ne dit rien pour un moment. C'est vrai. Elle l'aime encore. Mais elle a peur. Elle a peur d'avoir mal une fois de plus. "N'y pense plus," dit-elle à Lucie. "Laisse-moi seule un peu."

Helene says nothing for a moment. It is true. She still loves him. But she is afraid. She is afraid of getting hurt one more time. "Don't think about it any more," she says to Lucie. "Leave me alone for a bit."

Lucie part. Hélène reste seule chez elle. Elle pense à lui, à eux deux, à tout ce temps ensemble. Elle se demande si elle doit y croire. Peut-être que cette fois, c'est vrai. Peut-être que cette fois, il reste.

Lucie leaves. Helene stays alone at home. She thinks about him, about the two of them, about all that time together. She wonders if she should believe in it. Maybe this time, it is true. Maybe this time, he stays.

Le soir, Hélène prend son téléphone. Elle pense encore à lui. Elle ne veut pas l'appeler. Mais elle veut l'appeler. Comme toujours, lui et elle, c'est difficile.

In the evening, Helene takes her phone. She still thinks about him. She does not want to call him. But she wants to call him. As always, him and her, it is hard.

Elle pense aux mots de Lucie. "Tu l'aimes encore." Oui, c'est vrai. Pour la première fois, elle ne veut plus avoir peur. Elle veut le voir. Elle veut lui parler, à lui.

She thinks about Lucie's words. "You still love him." Yes, it is true. For the first time, she does not want to be afraid any more. She wants to see him. She wants to talk to him.

Hélène croit en lui une fois de plus. Elle prend le téléphone. Elle appelle. Et cette fois, elle dit son nom. "Marc ? C'est moi. Hélène. Il faut qu'on parle. Demain ?"

Helene believes in him one more time. She takes the phone. She calls. And this time, she says his name. "Marc? It's me. Helene. We need to talk. Tomorrow?"